A Soulmate's Story
by Mysticalsoul
Summary: Draco's lost something he truly loved, something that was unreplacable. Upon finding the MirrorofErised, he takes a trip to right the wrong and regain the treasure he lost, but in between, find strength and learn that the power of true love never fades.
1. The Famous Mirror of Erised

**Disclaimer:**  I do not own any of these characters, the only thing that belongs to me, sadly, is the plot.  If JK Rowling would give me Draco Malfoy, I would die.  Sadly, again, she won't. 

**Warning:**  Slash.  Male/Male Pairing.

**Rating**:  Rated R just to be safe.  

**Pairing:** The ever-snarky, ever-passionate, ever-loving Draco/Harry.  Yay!!!

**Author**: Dorothy.

* * *

**A Soul Mate's Story**

**Chapter One:  The Famous Mirror of Erised**  
  


* * *

_There were nights when the wind was so cold_

_That my body froze in bed_

_If I just listened to it_

_Right outside the window_

_There were days when the sun was so cruel_

_That all the tears turned to dust_

_And I just knew my eyes were_

_Drying up forever_

* * *

He could feel the warm light of the sun envelope his pale skin as he stood in front of the large window, his gray eyes downcast to the dust on the frame instead of the beautiful earth on the other side of the glass.  His posture was of one who was superior, for his hands were behind his back, his chin lifted high, his legs were together and his breathing was silent and almost predatory.  

It was so sunny outside, the birds were chirping, the sky was gleaming with its familiar early-May warmth, and the grass was green and it gave a fragrant of eternal earth… but that was on the other side of the window.  The classroom was slightly chilly, the stone cold floors were hard and rough – that is, if one such touches it with their feet, and the aura around the room spoke of hidden sadness.    

Lost in thought again, Draco Malfoy didn't feel his student's sympathetic glance towards their Professor one day in early May.  He didn't feel their eyes search his clean and sharp black robes that day, nor did he feel their suppressed sadness wash over him in a wave.  He didn't feel anything nowadays, anyway.

He heard the door creak open far away, where his mind was clouded with thoughts and dreams, feelings and emotions and pain, and he brought his gray eyes to his viewing level of the window.  He didn't turn his head as he heard small and hesitant steps come up from behind him, until; finally, he felt a light tug on his robe.

"Uncle?" the small voice whispered, and Draco couldn't help but smile sadly as he turned his head around without revolving his body and looked down at the small bushy redheaded girl.  

_She looks so much like Weasley_, he said to himself as his matured face turned into a slight smile that he only reserved for the saddest and compassionate times.  He looked around the room and several nosy but interested eyes dropped back down to their work, the heavy scratch of quills against parchments familiarizing the purpose of the room.  

"Yes, may I help you?"  He asked sincerely, turning his body 180 degrees so that the sun shined on his back, and he shivered slightly as he felt the warmness on his neck.  He kept his hands stationary behind his back, blowing some of his blonde hair from his eyes as he looked down at the girl with respected interest.  

The small girl held out a piece of parchment that was folded ever so delicately, twirling around in her best dress as he gave him a sweet smile.  

"Mummy asked me to give this to you," she tried to seem discreet, her rosy and freckled cheeks blushing ever so slightly as she leaned forward on her toes, her blue eyes glistening with mirth and child innocence.  She giggled when he bowed slightly to the princess, and she waved as she pranced out of the room in ironic happiness.

Draco sighed as he took long strides to his desk, opening the parchment slowly.  It read:

_Malfoy,_

_Come with us to dinner tonight.  Don't be alone again tonight… please.  What are friends for, anyway?  _

_Love, Hermione, Ronald and Ginger_.  

Years ago, he would have scoffed at the mere mention of the word 'friend' coming from Hermione Granger, but nowadays, he enveloped in the support.  He smirked unconsciously as he saw Hermione's tidy scrawl written on the paper, then, at the end where Ginger's name was, it was of a handwriting of a preschooler just learning how to write her name.   

He licked his dry lips as he raked his hands through his hair for the third time that day.  The first was when he woke up in the morning, yawning in his empty bed made for two as the sheets underneath him felt cold and screamed out their need for warmth.  The second time he ran, or glided, his hand through his hair was after he took a shower, the tired eyes and the bags under it exhibiting how he slept last night – and almost every night, in fact.  The third time was now, as he read the note from his colleague.

_Alone_, he thought to himself as he read the note again, unsure of what to do exactly.  That word repeated itself in his mind as his eyes searched the parchment again.  _Don't be alone again tonight_… _Alone…_Some of his blonde hair draped over his forehead and some of the fringe got in his eyes as he unhurriedly brushed them away, and for the fourth time that day, he ran his pale and graceful hand through his hair.

 He sighed sadly as he read those words over and over again, his gray eyes almost burning through the parchment with intense sadness that he almost dropped the paper as his fingers became numb… almost lifeless.  

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the shuffling of feet and the closing of textbooks, he looked up slowly to see some of his seventh year students file out of his classroom, all of them looking over to the vibrant red rose on his desk before turning their heads away, some of their eyes trying to hold back tears.

He watched as one of his prized students came up, Melissa Bogtrottle, and she gave him a small smile as she put her heavy Defense against the Dark Arts textbook in her bag, her delicate fingers closing the clasp.  She waited to speak with her gentle voice as the last student filed out, and she was there with her brown eyes, gazing into his own.

"Professor Malfoy?  I… I just want to say, that… well, all of us want to say," she looked back into the empty classroom before she turned her head back and said in a soft voice, "We all want to say that we can understand what you are going through… and if you need any help at all… or need someone to talk to, or anything…. Even if we are your students…. We would be glad to help you…" 

She trailed off there, unsure of what to say next as she averted her eyes to the flower that gleamed ironically in the bright day.  It smiled sadly back at her, the main reason why it was there was to remember something… _someone_, because their soul was like a flower.  Beautiful, sad… loving, wholesome… that is why Draco Malfoy put that rose there every day.  A new one each day, to symbolize hope.

Draco only nodded and sighed quietly before he said softly, "Thank you, Ms. Bogtrottle, I appreciate you and your year mate's concern.  But… I think I will be all right."

He said it like he meant it, but he didn't.  He would never really be all right again, not for a long time.  It had only been a year since the incident… He shook his head, trying to get the sinking feeling to run away from his chest, but he couldn't.  He doubted he ever could.  

He gave his student a small smile as she left his classroom to go to dinner that night in the Great Hall.  He wasn't even sure he could go in there – it was true, he was hungry and he was tired, but he couldn't face all the sympathetic faces around him.  He was a Malfoy, after all.  He hadn't eaten in days, he couldn't bear to go in the Great Hall this morning for breakfast when the sun shone through the enchanted ceiling and he couldn't bear going through lunch either – the eyes following him as he sat in his respected place.

Instead, he regarded the note that was still in his fingertips and studied it.  _Alone_… _What are friends for, anyway_?  It read.  He gulped a bit, closing his eyes.  The parchment was signed _Hermione, Ronald and Ginger_.  In the silence of his defense against the dark arts room, he felt his heart pain with the remembrance of something he once had so securely in his grasp before it was lost completely.  

_Hermione, Ronald and Ginger_.  They were a family; they all belonged to each other.  Hermione had married Ronald Weasley after school after dating him for a year, and they instantly clicked.  They were a family now; they each had each other… and Draco…

He didn't want to think about it as he buttoned his robes tighter around his slim torso, years of Quidditch and Auror training sculpting his muscular build.  He put away his papers from that day into his desk before he locked it with a spell, then he glided his hair back with his hand for the fifth time that day as he made his way around his desk to look at the rose that was upon it.

It was just _there_.  It glimmered in the sun, it shivered in the slightly chilled room, and it brought _life_ to the Defense Against the Dark Art's classroom.  Draco let his pale fingertips touch the petals slightly as he tilted his head some, staring at it, almost memorizing it.  Then he let his hand go, he let it fall hopelessly beside him as he continued to stare at the vibrant crimson flower.

Gulping, he turned away and made his way hastily to the door where he pivoted on his heel an inch before the doorframe and locked the door, breathing irregularly and slumping his forehead against the wooden door.  He couldn't cry now… he couldn't.  Malfoy's don't cry, it was against their nature.

He picked up his head that was leaning against the door and sighed as he made his way to Hermione's room – knowing already that she meant for their meeting to be there.  His empty footsteps echoed through the empty hall as he turned a corner and made his way down the west side of the castle.  

His feet carried him through the stone-floored halls, each turn and each step memorized in the back of his mind, so that he could find his destination blindfolded.  He was vaguely aware of the near-silenced hall as he turned another corner and came face to face with the Bloody Baron.  He shivered as he saw the bloodstains on him.

"Where you going, m'boy?" the Bloody Baron asked, his blood stains on his ghostly figure gleaming in the sun.  He sneered as Draco bowed in respect before he replied in a monotone voice, "I am going to see Professor Granger… She invited me over for dinner."

He knew it wasn't just for that… he knew that they were worried about him.  The bloody baron scowled as he floated away and started down the opposite end of the hall where Draco's destination was, but just as Draco was about to continue on his way down the corridor, the Bloody Baron said quietly, not looking at him, "I'm sorry about Potter."  Then he made his way without a glance back at the blonde man, his voice imprinted in Draco's mind as the blonde man stood there staring at the ghostly figure float through a door.

Draco seriously didn't know how he would make it the rest of the day – particularly – the rest of his life.  

---------- 

He knocked on the door quietly, the hard wood making his knuckles tingle slightly as he lowered his hand and awaited to be discovered outside his colleague's door.  He heard a girl's voice muffled on the other end of the door before his ears detected a deeper male's voice alongside the child's.  

The door opened seconds later to reveal a tall redheaded man standing beside a smiling child.  

"Uncle!" she grinned and ran out, hugging him around his waist before she glanced up at his face.  "I missed you," she whispered before she let go and took steps back, holding out her hand to bring him inside.  

He didn't refuse as he smiled down at her, taking her childish palm and entwining their fingers, looking up and locking eyes with Ron.  Draco nodded slightly and as he came in, he could feel Ron's hand on his shoulder in a soothing pat.  

He entered the warm room with the child's hand still in his, looking around for his main host.  He heard Ron close the door behind him absently before a soft, deep voice asked hesitantly, "Doing all right, Malfoy?"

Draco's bottom lip threatened to tremble right there and then, but he lifted his chin high and he looked back at the redheaded man.  In a quiet voice, he reassured him, "Yes.  Thank you for asking, Weasley.  But yes… I should be fine…"

He trailed off as he felt the familiar pang that surged his heart, making himself feel sick and slightly uncomfortable.  It was a lie – that he should be fine – it was a lie and he knew it.  He knew as long as he was alone, he would never be fine.  

Ron only nodded and kept hold of his gaze for a moment before he dropped his eyes sadly, looking at everything but Draco's own gray eyes.  It was hard for all of them, Draco noticed; as the silence of the room crept up his spine and made him shiver suddenly.  

"Draco?" a female voice called out at the other end of the room, particularly the other end of the door that lead to the kitchen.  He looked down to see that Ginger, Hermione and Ron's child, looking up at him.  Her freckled face radiating with her gleeful smile, her bouncy and curly hair shaping her small face.

"Uncle?" Ginger asked softly, smiling up at him and curling a strand of her bushy red hair with her pointer finger, "Mother wants us for dinner now… come with me?"

Draco smiled at the small child, squeezing her hand in his as he walked with her to the revolving door that lead to the kitchen.  He remembered when Hermione and Ron fixed their personal chamber to make it bigger that is; they made an extra room for her expected child, a kitchen and a living area, plus another room for the study… Yes, Draco remembered it precisely.  Hermione and Ron didn't want to intrude in the castle, but Dumbledore insisted they live there, there were plenty of rooms to spare.

He went through the revolving door with Ron close behind him, the smell of food whisking through his nostrils as he looked around the small kitchen.  Dumbledore had allowed her to make a small kitchen when Ginger Weasley was born, so she didn't have to make it all the way down to the normal Hogwart's kitchen without straining herself.

There were four chairs around the square small table in the kitchen, a large platter of spaghetti in the middle of it.  Draco's favorite.  

She came over to him, taking off her oven gloves and hugged him gently around his neck, her bushy hair in his face as he hugged her back, his heart close to breaking as he felt her involuntary shiver.  They stayed like this for a while, both of their eyes closed in the memory of someone gone but not forgotten; _never_ forgotten.

Dinner that night was uneventful; no one talked that much except for Ginger.  She would tell her mother or father, or anyone who listened about how her day was, how she went swimming with some of the Hufflepuff's down at the lake or how she made another friend, or, even, how she danced with the headmaster after lunch in the Great Hall when all the students were off in classes.  

"Mummy, did Auntie Ginny owl?  How about Uncle George or Uncle Fred?  Anyone?"  She asked quietly, smiling, "How about Grandma Molly?  Did she owl?"

The silence stretched as the child's voice rang clear in the warm air, her voice innocent that no one could really answer.  Draco played with his spaghetti absently, pushing the noodles to the side, aware of Hermione's hesitant voice and Ron's shuffle of his feet.

"Yes, dear, they all did… but it wasn't for you this time.  They sent lots of letters to Uncle Draco though…" she trailed off, her eyes searching Draco's face as he didn't lift his gaze to look up at her.  He couldn't look at her.  He knew what would happen if he did.  He would see unbearable sadness, he would see pain, and he would see sympathy.

He felt her brown, soft eyes look back into her own plate and quietly, Ron said, "Ginger.  You want to talk to Grandmother Molly in the fireplace?"  

Even Ron could feel the stiffness the blonde was portraying and he could feel the unasked question his wife wanted to ask Draco, for he stood up when the girl gave him a large, wide, and lopsided smile and rushed to the living room to talk to her Grandmother through the fireplace, leaving the bushy-haired woman and the blonde-haired man in the kitchen sitting opposite of one another.  

He looked up slowly because he could sense Hermione's eyes on his face, and he watched her sadly as her hand glided across the table to his own hand, placing it on top and squeezing it reassuringly.  They were quiet for a moment before Hermione whispered across the table, her voice concerned and almost hopeless, "Draco… I know you miss him, but you have got to stop doing this to yourself…" she trailed off and her voice cracked in the middle of her comforting sentence.

He could feel his heart pang now with each second she held his hand, with each second she looked at him, and he couldn't help but whisper back softly, his lip terribly close to trembling as his body was terribly close to scream for the need of a hug, comfort at the very least – and his eyes… his gray and superior eyes crashed down into the pit of despair, at last, he whispered back, "I-It's… It's just so _hard_, Granger… I miss him so much."  He wasn't expecting his voice to crack, but it did.  He licked his dry lips as he couldn't keep her gaze any longer and his bottom lip started to tremble against his will.

He put his hand over his mouth quickly.  _Malfoy's don't cry_, he said to himself as he closed his eyes, and he could feel her squeezing his hand as she got up.  She didn't let go of his masculine hand as he sat beside him in Ginger's empty chair, and she put an arm around him, her eyes close to tears, "I know you miss him, I know you do… you have got to be strong…"

He wouldn't cry.  He wouldn't, he struggled with his tears as he felt her embrace around his lonesome body.  He gulped loudly, his voice trembling, "I wish he were back here… I wish he was with me…"

She hugged him tighter and softly, with tears streaming down her face, "I know that… he loved you so much… he still does-," but she was cut off by his hoarse voice and a jerk of his body as he looked at her, eyes deep and filled with pain.

"No.  He _doesn't_ still love me.  Don't you _see_?!  He is gone.  GONE," he stood up quickly, shaking his head, his eyes glossy with unshed tears, his voice stern and hopeless.  He continued to shake his head as she went to him slowly and hugged him again, pulling him closer.  

"He is not gone.  Harry is _not_ gone." She said, inhaling a shuddering breath before exhaling it, her nimble arms around him pulling him into a crushing hug that he couldn't get out of – he didn't think he could, anyway.  He hugged her tighter and he breathed into her hair as they stood there in the kitchen, slightly swaying each other, comforting each other in their despair.

The revolving door creaked open and Draco tried to pull away from Hermione but her grip wouldn't let him.  He took in another deep and shuddering breath, his fingers clenching her robe helplessly as he wished he could be anyone but _him_.  He couldn't be seen like this – not helpless and without his guard up…

"Hermione – Ginger wants to-," but Ron was cut off by the image he saw in the kitchen, his wife and friend shaking in each other's embrace.  He stepped forward unsurely and he laid a hand on Draco's back, rubbing it gently.

Draco felt his heart give way and the tears he had been trying to keep from escaping his soul trailed down his face, the hot and humiliating wet tears dripping into Hermione's robe.  An escaped sob was exhaled within his next breath as he held her only tighter, wanting – no, _needing_ someone's embrace and understanding to know what he was going through.

Ron rubbed his back softly, and quietly, he whispered to Draco's turned away face but looking to his wife's eyes as he tried his best to keep his voice steady, "Malfoy – Draco, you are one of the strongest people I have ever met… and you are doing so well – considering what happened last year…"

Hermione squeezed him again around his waist, her tears seeping through his shirt and her eyes closed in memory.  He felt the lost warmth return to him slowly, those days without shedding his emotions making him feel alone and lost, but now that he was in his two friend's hospitality and understanding, he felt wanted.  He felt needed.  

They stayed there – who knew how long, and their heads were bowed down, the love and considerate affection surrounding them both.  It made Draco feel a little better… just a little. 

Draco pulled away from Hermione reluctantly and wiped his tears with the back of his hand, not looking at either of them.  He only nodded but didn't believe the words Ron just said as he mumbled, "Thank you Weasley.  I-I… I should go."  He stood there for a second longer, staring at the floor, the Malfoy wit and superior ability to make one feel intimidated escaping him almost completely.  

He gulped as he didn't wait for their response and pushed the revolving door that led into the living room where he saw Ginger sitting in front of the fireplace, waving her hands vividly in front of her, talking into the fire.

"A-And Susan said I could come visit her tomorrow!" she said, and Draco made the mistake of turning his head on the way to his exit out of there to be alone in solitude again as he saw Ron's mother, Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, Draco, Draco!" she called out softly, her face filled with concern and it was noticeable that she cried earlier, "Dear… how are you?"

He loved Mrs. Weasley very much – she was very understanding to him the last year since what happened to Harry, and he couldn't thank her enough.  He couldn't refuse her as he stepped forward and stood behind Ginger, his face downcast into the fire as he said quietly, "I'm all right… thank you for asking."

They looked at each other for a while before Mrs. Weasley nodded, Ginger looking between them questionably.  Draco stammered, "M-mum… I'm… I have to go."  He looked anywhere else but her and stepped back, almost tripping over a towel Ginger left on the floor. 

He didn't look at her face, or even Gingers face – as he practically ran out of the room, shutting the door soundly behind him.  He faced the empty and cool corridor with his chin lifted high like nothing happened, but his fingers clenched so tightly together that he was sure there would be marks on his palms from his fingernails.  He exhaled an exhausted breath and started to walk to his quarters, shuffling his feet as he went and hands in his robes.

He ran his hand through his hair again as he turned the corner, his footsteps silent as he heaved a sigh.  The candles flickered as he swept by them, the silence unbearably eerie and screaming in his ears.  He should have asked Severus if he could have a sleeping potion, but he was too exhausted to make that extra journey as he opened his door to his personal chambers and entered it.

---------- 

Several hours later, he put on his robes over his pajamas and cursed himself again internally for not listening to instinct on asking his other colleague – Professor Snape, for the dreamless Sleeping potion.  He had used too many in the last month, he knew Professor Snape would question about that, but not only that – Snape was probably asleep and he personally didn't want to wake him up.

He couldn't sleep – but he was also afraid too, because he knew the dreams would make him insane… and he really couldn't take waking up crying again like he had for the last year.  He couldn't take the pain anymore, really.  He couldn't take the trembling and he couldn't take the looks from his students of his friends, and he couldn't take the solitude and he couldn't take the hurt and the pain and the missing hopefulness.  He couldn't take it, he couldn't take it anymore, but most of all, and he couldn't take the dreams – for the simple reason that no one would be there to kiss his tears away like there used to be.

He went to his closet and reached out his hand to touch the sacred and silver fabric, something he hadn't used in a while – and pulled it out, Harry's invisibility cloak glimmering in the moonlight.

Yes… it had been a long time since he used it.

"Oi, Potter, is that what I think it is?" Draco asked, his voice filled with awe and his eyes wide – the gray color shimmering with curiosity.  He stepped forward and reached for the cloak, but Harry stepped back one space and shrugged.

_The twenty-three year old Harry Potter smirked as he waved the invisibility cloak in Draco's face, before he said smugly, lovingly, "Its an invisibility cloak, honestly you git."_

_Draco smirked and looked up and down the shimmering cloak, and then he looked in Harry's eyes, which sparkled.  Harry took a step forward while smiling and leaned in to whisper in Draco's ear, "It's our anniversary gift…I want to share this with you, " he leaned back to look in Draco's face and smiled as he saw the opened mouth and the wide eyes._

_"How… how did you know I've always wanted one?" Draco's admired whisper didn't take Harry by surprise as he shrugged again, but his green eyes told much more._

_"So… It's ours?" Draco asked, stepping forward and looking into his lover's eyes.  _

_Harry only nodded, and smiled, before he whispered back, "It's ours, you can use it whenever you want… to sneak out… to use when we fight in the battlefield… to have some solitude…"_

_Harry trailed off as Draco embraced him, the unspoken emotion evident between the hug._

Draco held the invisibility cloak in his hand, watching the end flutter as he felt a shiver up his spine.  He reluctantly pulled the cloak around him and walked to the entrance of his personal chambers before he opened the door slowly, and walked out.

---------- 

He had been walking around for an hour, mindlessly, not caring what he bumped into or the silence he was invading.  The stone-cold floor comforted his feet as he walked, himself knowing that the passages could lead anywhere where he was welcomed.  He didn't bother to look at his watch as he felt himself sway – his tired legs and baggy eyes not willing to uphold him for much longer.  He turned at the corner of the corridor and looked down into it, the candles and the flames flickering in the solitude of the corridor.  

His eyebrows came together in confusion – surely this corridor has never been here before.  He shrugged moments later, reminding himself that this was Hogwarts, ­_anything_ could happen.  

He walked down it slowly, mind wandering from one thing to another – not all necessarily happy thoughts, but rather sad and some things that ran through his mind he wanted to forget.

He felt safe under Harry's invisibility cloak, almost as if feeling Harry _holding him_.  It had Harry's scent – he realized upon walking with it. He still didn't feel like sleeping as he eyed one door warily – its rusty handle making it eye-catching for the blonde haired man, making up his mind to go through it instead of turning back as he felt sleep gain on him.  

He opened the door soundlessly, shivering at the cool breeze that made his pajamas flutter with the invisibility cloak.  He looked in surprise around the empty room; he would have half suspected it had some storage it in or something.  He closed the door behind him and put his hands in his pockets, taking hesitant steps forward and turning his head sideways.  

The room was _huge_, he noticed as he looked around.  The ceilings were high, and the chandeliers glistened.  It was quiet as he stepped forward, his feet not making a sound. 

His eyes caught hold of something black, a black blanket draped across something large.    He sighed and figured he didn't have anything better to do and went over to the large object, standing in front of it.  He was slightly shorter than the object in front of him, but it didn't stop him from doing what he did next.  He reached up with his hand, and pulled down the blanket with one determined sweep.

A large mirror stood in front of him.  His gray eyes swept over the large frame as he took a step back to marvel at the mirror's grand beauty, and his eyes caught something on the top of the frame, which read _Erised_. 

He had never seen a mirror like this to tell the truth.  He had seen talking mirrors; haunted mirrors, mirrors that showed nothing at all… but nothing like this.  The mirror was grand, to say the least, its frame wide and powerful, and the glass itself was bare.  He stood in front of it seconds later, his hand holding the frame as he looked in it, seeing nothing.  

He searched the mirror, hoping to see something…_anything_ really.  

He continued to look in it, until, finally, he sighed and was about to turn away when he looked from the corner of his eye and saw something in the mirror move.  He turned his face around completely to face the mirror and almost screamed at what he saw.

He saw Harry.  He saw _his_ Harry.  He saw _his_ Harry and him, holding each other.  His face paled until it was almost a deathly white.  He took several steps back quickly, feeling tremendous bolts of shivers go up his spine in a mad rush that he almost ran away, until, slowly, his eyes traveled up his reflected self in the mirror.  

He stopped in his tracks, tilting his head quizzically as he saw himself wrap his arms around Harry's torso, pulling him into an embrace.  

He stood there for who knows how long, staring at the swaying couple in the mirror.  He could see Harry's face, smiling, eyes closed, lips parted, arms around himself… he stepped closer subconsciously as he saw his reflected self reach up a hand and caress Harry's back.

Draco Malfoy licked his dry lips, millions of unspoken thoughts running through his mind all at once that he almost couldn't take it.  _What is this?  _He asked himself as he saw Harry look at him and smile warmly.

"Harry…" he whispered into the night, knowing already that the mirror Harry couldn't hear him, but he took another step forward, eyes looking into the green orbs on the other side of the mirror.

His mirror self took a step back and looked at him, his face happy and his smile genuine.  His real self took another step forward, and reached out to touch the frame, looking into the mirror under the invisibility cloak.  

He continued to stare at the figures looking back at him, and he took in a shuddering breath, feeling that familiar pang in his heart as he took another step forward, close enough so that he was staring right in front of the mirror.

He watched as Harry looked back at him, then suddenly, Harry's hand lifted from the green-eyed boys side, and pressed it to the glass on the mirror's side, looking into Draco's eyes the whole time he did so.  

Draco felt his knees go weak at such an action that he felt his hand lift up from his side, and slowly, without thinking, he slowly reached out and put his palm flat unto the surface of the grand mirror – touching Harry's palm through the glass.    

He felt something tingle up his spine seconds later before there was a white light, mixed with green and blue and yellow, and he felt himself being pulled against his will _forward_, and as much as he tried to pull back he couldn't.  He closed his eyes at the sharp light and he could feel his feel creating friction, his heart beating madly, his fingers clenched together.  He blacked out minutes later upon landing upon a hard wooden floor, his head hitting the floorboard and making a loud sickening sound.

----------

He opened his eyes moments later, breathing hard, looking around and wondering if it was a dream.  His skin tingled in the room he was in, a room that looked familiar but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.  He got up slowly on wobbly legs, his vision blurred slightly and he felt his head throb slightly, and he realized with a jolt that Harry's invisibility cloak wasn't on him.  He looked down and searched the ground – not caring where he was or what just happened to him at the moment – but needing to find that cloak for it was his only comfort.

When he turned around to see if it dropped behind him or if it was around the room, his eyes caught hold of his reflection in the mirror and he gasped at what he saw.

He saw himself… only, he was alone this time.  There was no Harry.  There was no empty room.  There was only him, looking back at himself.  And the thing that almost made him faint again wasn't even close to what he imagined it would be.  

Draco Malfoy wasn't staring at his thirty-one year old self in the mirror like he was minutes before, but instead, he was staring at his seventeen-year-old self, and he never saw his eyes so wide before in his life.

-----**TBC**-----

**Chapter Two:**  Draco starts to learn what happened to him.  

**Notes**: Yes, I will be finishing Lullaby of a Dragon, Don't worry… but this just screamed out to be written!!!  

Please review… please.  You'll learn what happens in the next chapter, I promise.  

* * *

Chapter One Completed:  October 31, 2002


	2. Ride To Hogwarts

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of these characters… blah blah.

**Warning:** Slash.  Male/Male Pairing.

**Rating: **R.

**Pairing:**  Draco/Harry!!!

**Author**:  Dorothy

**Notes**:  Thanks for everyone who reviewed, ya'll are sweet hearts!  This is kind of like a time travel fiction and all… 

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A Soul Mate's Story

Chapter Two: Ride to Hogwarts 

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It's so hard to believe but   
It's all coming back to me   
(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)   
There were moments of gold   
And there were flashes of light   
There were things I'd never do again   
But then they'd always seemed right   
There were nights of endless pleasure   
It was more than any laws allow   
Baby Baby

_

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_Draco Malfoy wasn't staring at his thirty-one year old self in the mirror like he was minutes before, but instead, he was staring at his seventeen-year-old self, and he never saw his eyes so wide before in his life._

He couldn't breath; in fact, he felt his heart stop beating for a millisecond as he stared at his reflection.  He only got a glimpse of himself before he heard a booming voice behind him.

"Draco!  Did you find that damned book?" 

When he turned his body around to see who had called him, he felt his face lose its remaining color, he could feel a cold and hard involuntary shiver run up his spine like a horse running in the wild, and he could feel the tiny hairs at the back of his supple neck stand up.  He was looking at the steely gaze of his father.

"F-Father?" he whispered into the cold attic room, instantly recognizing where he was once he heard his father's voice.  There was only one voice that could make his hair stand on end on the back of his neck and on hi arms, and that was his father's.  

"Don't just stand there boy, hurry up!"  Lucius Malfoy's gaze pierced his eyes and he felt another shiver run up his body.  His knees felt unbearably weak under his father's gaze and the throbbing at the side of his head only deepened with pressure.  He swayed a bit but managed to stay upright as he stared at the older blonde man across from him.

He turned around to face the mirror quickly in his desperation to find some answers or something other than this alternate reality, but with a jolt of horror and surprise, he didn't see anything.  He just saw a space where something once was and was not there anymore.  

He felt dizzy instantly while the room moved and the images became blurry, and the last thing Draco remembered seeing was his father's stone-cold and hard eyes twinkle with surprise as Draco hit the ground again and blacked out a second time with a sickening thud.

---------- 

__

Headmaster Dumbledore,

This is one of your students, and I am writing because I need your help.  Something happened about two days ago, and for safety reasons I won't write what, but I need your help.  It is really urgent and there is no other person I could trust more.  Thank you.

Draco didn't sign his name as he tied the letter to his owl's leg.  The bird gave him a look as he ruffled his feathers and turned around to depart.  Draco watched as the black bird flew out of his window in the Malfoy Manor and he leaned over in his chair and cradled his head in his hands.  

He was hopelessly lost – all he knew was that he had to contact Albus Dumbledore immediately.  He put those words on the parchment because he didn't know what else to write, but some of the reasons was because he was tired, and he could barely move.  The second reason was because he was afraid someone would intercept it and who knows…  Someone could have told his father and Lucius would get suspicious.

Lucius Malfoy – the name brought shivers up Draco's spine at the mere thought of it.  He hated his father so much, but the main reason he hated him was because he feared him.  Draco viewed himself as superior – all Malfoy's do, but he viewed himself fearless.  He was an Auror for crying out loud!  He feared him for several reasons as well.  One of them was that Lucius was trying repeatedly to kill his loved ones – which included his mother and Harry… and Lucius almost succeeded.

When Draco first saw Lucius yesterday night in the attic, he could feel the fear overtake him.  _Lucius Malfoy is dead.  Your father is dead_, he repeated again and again when he awoke from his unconscious state.  _Your mother is dead_, he told himself as he closed his eyes in sadness, and his body shuddered uncontrollably as he remembered the only family member he actually loved.  He hadn't seen his mother yet in his universe – this traveling back in time fiasco or whatever the hell he wanted to call it, and frankly, he just wanted to go back.  He wanted to go back to the way things were – where he could handle it… even if it meant feeling empty and lonely for the rest of his life.  

He slowly lifted his head from his hands and took a sideways look into the full-length mirror across from his bed.  His face changed from scared to worried in a matter of seconds, and he looked away again in despair and utter perplexity as his reflection was only staring at him moments before.  

He looked so different.  His hair was a bright blondish color that spoke of his youth, his face angular with his eyes a bright gray.  But, if one looked close enough – it really wasn't a bright gray; instead, it was a sad, deep blue.  He didn't have that much muscles as he had in the future – what he concluded anyway, considering that he saw his father again and was staring at his seventeen-year-old self – and he really didn't know what to think, really.  He was about an inch or so shorter, about the same build: slim hips and broad shoulders… but other than that, he didn't really look different.

He felt different, though.  He felt younger.  He felt much more younger than what he had felt in a long time.  He felt the need to stretch his muscles and flex his body and run.  He had felt like he was back in his Auror days – carefree and invulnerable.

He remembered as he woke up this morning, a house elf sponging his head where throbbing was evident.  He knew he murmured some words about his father, and about his mother, and about Harry, but the house elf scurried away as soon as he started talking.

He snapped out his thoughts as he heard a faint knock on the door, and he sat straight up in the chair he was sitting in, not before pushing the ink and parchment back to their original positions and pretending to look like all he had been doing was thinking.  

He answered in a soft and clear voice, "Come in."

The door opened slowly and a small head poked in, big and wide eyes staring at him, the eyes untrusting and unsure.  The house elf was clearly frightened out of her wits, but it came in obediently and stood by the door, eyes downcast to the floor in a stance of master and servant.  

Draco couldn't help but feel sorry for the elf, as the creature didn't move an inch.  Draco cleared his throat gently as he saw the house elf shake with pure nerves.  He said softly, "Were you the one who was helping me this morning, elf?"

He would have called the elf by its name if he knew what the name was, but all the elf did was squeak and reply, "P-Penny helped you this morning, Master Draco."  He tried to remember if he had known this elf, but he concluded that his father must have gotten a new one.

Draco asked softly without moving from his position in his comfortable chair, "And what is your name?  Are you Penny?"

The elf squeaked again and looked in his eyes with her wide ones before she nodded sagely and in her squeaky, girly elf voice, "Yes! Sir, I am Penny!  Penny is a bad elf, Penny not tell Master Draco her name!"

She looked like she was about to cry but Draco quickly stood up and made his way to her with concerned eyes.  She positively bawled when he reached for her hand to comfort her.

"Penny is a bad elf!  Penny is a bad elf!  Crying in front of Master Draco!  Bad elf!" she cried as turned around quickly and started to bang her head against the hard wall, but Draco stopped her in mid-motion and pulled her back, stopping her from getting hurt further.

"No, no, no, no!  Penny good elf, Penny is a good elf, don't worry," he said quietly, positively alarmed with Penny's state.  He pulled her back and squatted down to her and held her forearms so that she couldn't move from his grasp.  She was trembling in his hands, her mouth opened wide and her eyes as big as saucers.

He looked in her eyes and said sincerely, "You are a great elf, Penny.  I just want to thank you for this morning… Really.  Thank you."

He gave the elf a small smile before he released her and straightened up moments later, brushing some hair out of his eyes.  The elf just looked slightly suspicious before she shuffled her feet and asked quietly, "Would Master Drac-,"

But Draco cut her off with a wave of his hand and said quietly, "Please.  Just call me Draco."

The elf looked positively bewildered as she stared at him, surely no elf in history could call their Master by their given name – especially in the Malfoy household!  She just stared.  And stared. And stared.

  
Then she started bawling loudly, "Master Draco is so good to Penny!" 

He stared at her before he felt a slight migraine coming on and he said in a slightly stern voice, "What were you about to ask me, Penny?"

She stopped bawling the instant that he talked to her, but large streams of tears were still streaked down her face.  She shuffled her feet – Draco concluded that it was because she was scared insensible – and looked up at him. 

"Would Ma-," she stopped in mid-sentence and quickly corrected herself, "Would Draco," she paused, realizing she just said his name and looked utterly bewildered before she tried again, "Would Mas-," she squeaked as she started to say 'master' again and turned her body around so that she could bang her head in the wall before Draco seized her and told her quickly, "No, its okay, just call me Master Draco if it is easier for you."

Penny paused and relaxed somewhat but continued uncertainly, "Would Master… Would Master Draco want Penny to pack his Hogwarts clothes?"

Draco stared down at her before he hoarsely whispered, "What?!"

Penny had that frightened look in her eye as she took an unsure step back and repeated herself, "Would Master Draco want Penny to pack his Hogwarts clothes for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" he repeated hoarsely, his hand finding the chair as he sat down in it heavily, eyes roaming the elf's face as a million of things ran through his mind.

_Hogwarts_.  Where he _worked_.  Where he attended the meals as a professor.  Where he taught immature first years and studious seventh years.  He didn't attend there anymore.  He didn't.  He tried to reassure himself this as he sighed hopelessly.  

He sat there looking at the elf's feet instead of her face, and he broke out of his thought as he saw her move her feet discreetly.  

"Yes… yes, just… just pack my bags… just put whatever…" he said absently, licking his dry lips.  

He watched as Penny hurriedly made her way to his closet and started to take out his clothes, not before looking at himself in the mirror again and wondering what he had gotten himself into.

---------- 

Life was cold in the Manor, Draco realized upon going outside in the light autumn breeze.  He stood in his massive garden looking out into the land that was part of the Malfoy estate, and he shivered as he felt a slight breeze ruffle his robes.

He hadn't been to the Manor ever since he was twenty-five – six years ago – the ministry closed it down and claimed it to be 'dangerous'.  Really, Draco couldn't blame them.  In his time, they still didn't have the balls to go up into the attics and look through his late father's belongings, nor have they gone down in the basement and found the torture chambers.

Draco wandered mindlessly into the gardens, his robes embracing his smaller figure and he felt a slight warmness once he stepped outside.  He sat down on the bench minutes later, looking unto the distance, and his eyes searched what was his.

Rose bushes, tulips, and bushes in particular, any type of flower bush or tree you could think of – the Malfoy Manor had it.  Draco remembered that Harry once called it 'The hanging gardens of Babylon'.  Draco didn't know what he was talking about at that time, but since he had researched some things on Muggle History, he could now say that he knew what that was.

He shivered again and wrapped his robes around him as he felt another chilly breeze.  The manor was always a nice temperature, never hot and never cold compared to the weather outside, but Draco had to admit that the gardens were much warmer.  Warmer, meaning, he felt at home. He felt that the surrounding landscape was embracing his skin, making his heart feel accustomed to it.

He looked to his side to see a rose bush with several mini roses and stood up, walking to it.  He leaned down and picked one out gently, holding it in his fingers as he memorized the texture of the flower as well as the color.  

It was Harry's favorite flower, he had remembered.  He didn't cry as the rose petals fluttered slightly in the breeze, and he dropped it upon his shuddering breath.

He had been thinking a lot since this morning with his house elf.  He realized that he was now in his seventeen year old body, and he had also realized that he was fourteen years in the past.  

"Draco?" he heard a soft voice behind him.  He didn't need to turn around to know whose voice that was.  It was his mother's gentle voice that was filled with concern and curiosity that filled the quiet outdoors of the mansion.  His heart ached as he felt her come closer behind him, and the next thing he knew was that her long and gentle fingers were on his shoulder, grasping it.

"Mother," his voice cracked as he spoke her name, his hand going up to rest on hers.  Her fingers felt cold instead of the warmth he thought it would feel, her ring on her middle finger startlingly cold against his own.

"What is wrong, love?" he turned his face away so that he wouldn't have to look at her, but she walked around in front of him and held his chin in her fingers.

"Draco?" she asked again, and he could feel her soft and penetrating gray eyes search his face, before her hand cupped his cheek and forced him to look at her.  His traitorous eyes lifted up and looked at her, his eyes sad and his regret evident.

"Mother," he breathed out and before his mother had a chance to blink, he embraced her in a gentle hug.  He felt her stiffen in his embrace – after all, Draco never hugged his mother when he was child going into adolescence – and he only squeezed her tighter.  His hands were around her slim waist; his head was nestled on her shoulder as he let out a shuddering breath.

He felt his mother's hands go uncertainly around his back in a tender hug that was only given from mother to offspring, almost scared to touch her son that was suddenly giving her affection after those long years without it.  Draco didn't say a word as his eyes closed and his soul set free, his mother's scent ringing through his nose.

"What's wrong, Draco?  There has to be something wrong," she whispered into his ear, his cheek nuzzling into his blonde hair.  They were about the same height, but Draco's bowed head into her shoulder made him seem shorter.

"Nothing.  Nothing is wrong.  I just love you.  Okay?" he whispered back, his voice filled with regret and love, and he remembered that he never told her that he loved her… Not once since he hit thirteen.  He felt that this was the least he could do.

"I-I love you too," she whispered back softly and hugged him tighter.  He could feel her shiver in the breeze that just picked up and he felt so lost – so hopelessly lost.

"Mother?" he asked her quietly; apprehensive to what she would say.

"Yes, Draco?" she answered, her tighter hold of him keeping its firmness.

"Bring me to the station tomorrow, when I go to Hogwarts?" he whispered into her cheek, tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he inhaled her scent again.  He remembered that no one had brought him to the station since he was fifteen except for the driver.  He had missed it.

"O-Of course, dear, of course…" she whispered back, and pulled back gently away from him.  She looked in his eyes, trying to figure out what happened to her son, the son that never hugged her or showed her affection, the son that sneered when she was a crying mess when Lucius went out to who knows where, the son that she was so scared would end up like Lucius.  But then she realized that it was her son… it was just something had happened to him.

He smiled a sad smile at her, and braced tomorrow with his mother's guidance in his heart, and he never felt so much love to her like a son should until he looked in her eyes one cool autumn evening.

---------- 

"Draco, are you looking forward to defeating Gryffindor this year?" she asked gently, looking at her son that sat across from her in the carriage the next day upon arriving to King's Cross Station.

Draco breathed in, and hopefully, he could return to his own time by the end of tonight.  He nodded anyways and looked out of the window, watching the trees and the earth outside him zoom past him in their movement.

"I'm so proud of you for being Head Boy, you know," she said quietly, smiling with happiness and her pale cheeks flushed a slight pink in her pride.  Her blonde hair shone in the light, illuminating her high cheekbones and making her usual sour face shine with a certain beauty.

"Yes…" he replied back to her absently, a sigh escaping his lips. Now that Draco looked back to when he was seventeen… he couldn't really remember a thing.  He never knew he was head boy, he never knew what happened that year.  

They didn't talk anymore as they arrived at the station, but that's all Draco needed… that was, to feel his mother's presence so close to him.

As he exited the carriage, he felt a new hope surge through him as he saw younger years with their trunks and animals go to the barrier, and he turned around to his mother once again.

"I will try to owl you, mother," he said quietly, taking her hands in his.  She smiled at him happily and let him take her nimble fingers, and replied, "You better, Draco."

They smiled at each other for a second, a moment between a mother and son laid unforgotten as he stepped forward and gave her a goodbye kiss on her cheek before he stepped back and pulled his fingers gently from hers.

"Tell father goodbye for me," he said in a monotone voice full with disapproval.  He knew Lucius wouldn't care; he would be with his fellow colleagues or fellow death eaters.  Draco felt as if he should have done something about it, but he knew he couldn't disrupt history.  All he hoped for was that he could return to his normal time… and hope that he wouldn't see Harry again.  He just said what was appropriate anyway.

His mother just nodded and stepped back in the carriage, giving him one last look and a wave before leaving her son with his trunk alone on platform nine.

In a way, he wanted to see his Harry again… but he knew he would collapse with sorrow and his remaining strength would collapse on him.  It was hard enough to see his mother again, but it was even harder to see his lover… especially seeing what happened to him.

He made his way to the platform absently, pushing his trunk with a trolley.  He bumped into several muggles, but he didn't apologize, as he was lost in thought.  He stood in front of platform nine and three quarters before he looked around to see if anyone was watching, and his gaze caught hold of a small girl with what looked like her mother.  They were both dressed in muggle clothes, and he could struggle to here what they were saying.

"I don't know how to get in there, Melinda," she told her daughter.  The mother looked at the ticket again with wide eyes, and looked between platform nine and platform ten.  Draco could swear that he had seen that woman before, but he shrugged it off.  Draco looked at the small girl who was supposedly Melinda and her eyes widened with fear.  Her heard her let out a small whimper before he pushed his trolley to the side and waited to see if they needed some assistance.  

Being the Defense against the dark arts teacher in his later years, he always had to help other students… something he wasn't really used to doing since he had taken up the job.

"Mother!  How am I supposed to go to Hogwarts now?" she whispered, looking around.  Her cat that was in a cage let out a loud meow, and that is when Draco decided to step in.

"Excuse me," he addressed the mother politely, and she looked at him with wide eyes.  He noticed that she was looking at him suspiciously, before her gaze swept over to his trunk that was beside the barriers.

"Yes?"  She asked, putting a protective hand on her daughter's shoulder.  Draco knew the girl was a first year by the way she was so small, and the way she didn't know how to get into the platform.

"Would you like me to assist your daughter to get on the Hogwarts express?" he asked quietly, looking around so that no one would hear before he returned to talking to her, "I go to the same school.  I'm a seventh year," he paused as he let that sink in, and something slowly started to form in his mind but he shook his head at that thought and said quickly, "Draco Malfoy." He held out his hand to the woman and the woman shook it gratefully.

"Are you a warlock?" she asked in a hushed voice, looking around quickly.  He smiled slightly and shook his head, "No ma'am, I'm a wizard.  But I would be happily assist your daughter into the platform."

The woman nodded gratefully and gave him a wide smile, taking her hand off her daughter's shoulder.  "I would appreciate that a lot young man."

He smiled sadly at her before he turned around and pointed to the barrier that was in between platform nine and platform ten.  He glanced at Melinda and said quietly so that they could be the only ones that could hear, "Now, don't be afraid.  Just run into the barrier if you are a bit nervous.  Don't stop either… you'll do fine." He gave her a sincere smile as she gulped nervously and looked to where he was pointing.

She nodded before she turned to her mother and gave her a small hug.  He heard them both whisper something to each other and he looked away as she kissed her mother on her cheek.

Draco watched as Melinda started forward slowly, throwing a nervous look over her shoulder but she gained speed on her walked with a slow jog then into a fast run, and before Draco could blink, Melinda disappeared into the platform.  He admired her braveness, and probably thought she would be in Gryffindor.  

He got his trolley minutes later and waved to Melinda's mother before he disappeared into the barrier as well, arriving at the other side with downcast.  He didn't want to catch anyone's eye – especially Crabbe, Zabini or Goyle.

He was about to ask Melinda to sit with him in a compartment, but he saw her talking with another first year, both of their faces wide with smiles and their hands were animated and pointing to the barrier continuously.  He wouldn't be surprised if Melinda was muggle-born.

He knew that Crabbe and Goyle – he tried not to scowl at the mere thought of them – would be at the last compartment in the train or at least at the end of it, so he made his way to the front, finding an empty compartment.  He remembered in the back of his mind what happened to Crabbe and Goyle – they had followed his father's footsteps into becoming death eaters, while Harry (his boyfriend at the time) convinced him to be an Auror.  At that time, he really didn't care what he wanted to be.

He sat down slowly in the seat close to the window and looked out, watching the remaining students pile in the train.  That's when he started to remember Harry.

Harry would be boarding the same train with him soon enough, if he hadn't already boarded it.  His Harry.  His lover.  His husband.  Someone who wasn't there anymore.  

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he looked down into the cushions instead of looking outside, and he felt the familiar sadness surge through his body as the thought of his lover.  His mind started to drift to Harry's touches, Harry's kisses, Harry's voice and Harry's smile…

He inhaled a shuddering breath that was so unlike a Malfoy that he closed his eyes and leaned forward, putting his head in his hands.  He cradled his head as he started to remember – or tried to remember – his seventh year.  The thing was, he didn't remember anything.  He just remembered waking up one day, sore all over, and Harry's face filled with tears looking down at him.

He remembered as Harry whispered some words into his ear, but he just shook his head and tried to push his nemesis at that time out of his face, but he remembered the tremendous pain in his body as he just lifted his hand to do so.

He remembered that Professor Snape informed him that he had been hit by a bludger, therefore, his bones and all of his body was damaged.  But the thing was, he didn't remember getting hit by a bludger.  He didn't remember anything before his sixth year… where it ended up playing a trick on Ginny Weasley to aggravate her brother… but his seventh year was missing from his memory as he reflected on it.  

What he remembered that was Crabbe and Goyle told his father about him and his father tried to get him to join the Death eater's again – as if Draco left it in the first place, but Draco refused… only because Harry begged him and told him it wasn't worth it.  He remembered being so nasty to Harry, threatening him and pushing him around, but Harry just gave him a look that radiated his feelings, and after that, Draco only remembered falling in love with him three years later…

That was all Draco remembered after his seventh year.  Just what happened after, not during… and he was hit with a idea that made his eyes grow wide, and his skin pale and made his legs weak.  

He suddenly realized something as he felt his muscles tense.  He finally realized where his seventh year went.  He finally realized that he would be repeating his seventh year as a 31-year-old Defense against the dark arts teacher… and there was no way out.

---------- 

"Are you both ready?" Hermione smiled as she stood in front of one of the train entrances.  The two boys beside her nodded and grinned as they all took the last, remaining step into the train, and Ginny trailed behind them with a smirk.

"We can't turn back now.  This is our last year," Hermione grinned as she made her way to the front of the train, making sure she could hear the announcements if they were ever called out.

Ron trailed behind her and Harry waited for his girlfriend to walk alongside him.  Ginny entwined their hands together and smiled shyly at him, her eyes hiding behind her red hair.  While he was looking at her and walking, he reached over and tucked it behind her ear, and he could swear Ginny shivered under his touch.

"Looking forward to defeating Slytherin this year, Harry?" Ron called out behind him without turning around.

"Of course.  Slytherin is going down," he said as he felt Ginny squeeze his hand.  Hermione was in the lead and she poked her head into one of the compartments before she said something to someone in them and poked her head back out.  She turned towards them with a frown.

"It's full," she said quietly before she turned around and poked her head in each of the compartments, coming out with an even deeper frown as she went down the aisle.  Harry looked up to see the conductor come out.

"You all better find a place to sit now, the train is about to move," he said gruffly, a donut in his hand.  He was portly, to say the least, his belly hanging over his belt, but he looked friendly.

They all nodded as he came forward and opened one of the doors.  He said gruffly to one of the people in there, "Those seats taken?"

It must have been a no, for all Harry heard was a soft voice and the conductor opened the door more and gestured them in.

"Found you all a seat.  Sit down, hurry!" he said quietly, biting into his donut.  He moved forward with Ginny's hand in his and watched as Hermione's face went from a smile to a frown quicker than someone could blink.  She looked questionably back at the conductor, but the conductor shrugged, and in a heavy British accent he said, "Those are the only seats open Missy, better sit down," he held the door open for her as she went in, and Ron followed behind her.  

When Harry stepped in the compartment and saw what awaited him, he could see why Hermione frowned as deeply as she did, for he was staring at none other than Draco Malfoy.

---------- 

Draco looked up when he heard a man's voice, and to answer his question on whether or not the seats were taken, he shook his head and leaned back in the cushions.  He awaited the people who would be sharing his compartment with him when the first thing he saw was bushy hair and brown eyes.

Hermione Granger.  He felt his face pale quickly and his fingers clench the cushions under him.  He watched as she gave him a frown and the conductor muttered something and he watched as she stepped forward uncertainly and sat on the same row of cushions as he did – farthest away from him.  

The next person that entered the compartment was Ronald Weasley.  Draco watched as he gave the Slytherin a glare and a sneer before he sat opposite of Hermione – as far away from him as possible.

Draco knew what would happen next. He closed his eyes and didn't dare to open it as he heard more than one pair of feet enter the compartment next.  He turned his head to face the window without opening his eyes, and he felt the train move forward, on its way to Hogwarts.

It took him several minutes to breath properly.  He knew who was sitting directly opposite of him without even opening his eyes.  He could feel him.  

He inhaled deeply and without caring what anyone else in the compartment thought, his fingers started shaking.  He couldn't stop it; it was too hard to control it.  Harry was right there; he was sitting right across from him.

He knew he shouldn't, but he opened his eyes slowly, and he saw Harry look back at him with concerned eyes, those green eyes that bored into his soul.  He's so beautiful, Draco thought as he inhaled a breath.  Harry's face brought out youth, his eyes bright green and his lips a rosy red.

"You all right, Malfoy?" Hermione asked quietly, but she shut her mouth as soon as Ron gave her a glare.  All Draco was staring was Harry.  He couldn't take his gaze off of him.

He looked down from his gaze – something his younger self would never do because of pride.  His younger self would have sneered and called him names instantly – but he wasn't his younger self.  He had matured over the years.

Then his eye caught something.  

His eyes caught entwined fingers.  Ginny Weasley was holding hands with Harry Potter.  

There were a million things that ran through his mind at that instant, and the thing most evident and it even showed on his face was pain.  Pain, for it surged through his body like a whip.  Pain, because he was staring at his Harry again.  Pain, because his Harry was not his.  Pain, because Harry and Ginny were holding hands.  

Pain, that was the word Draco was feeling at this moment.  His fingers were still shaking as some hair draped over his eyes and shielded his gray-blue hues.  He let out a shaky whisper to answer Hermione question, "Y-Yes."

They all looked at him quizzically as he let his gaze drop to the floor, his breath shaky and his body trembling.  He could feel their gazes on him as he turned to look out the window.

_Malfoy's don't cry, don't you dare bloody cry_, he said to himself.  His fingers were still trembling as he gulped quietly.  

He had to get out of this reality, he had to get out of here quick – or else, he felt, he would die.

---------- 

Harry stared at him quizzically, for a second there he thought the blonde Slytherin was going to cry.  He watched as Draco leaned back in his set and with a determined face he turned towards the window and stared out of it.  

Harry's curiosity grew as he saw Draco trembling.  He glanced at Hermione from the corner of his eye and gave her a confused look, which she returned with a shrug.  He looked at Ron and Ron looked back at him with wide eyes.  Harry returned to look back at Draco and then he turned to Ginny who was staring hatefully at Draco.

They stayed quiet for a minute as the train moved to its destination, and Ginny piped up, "Not here with your goons, Malfoy?"

Harry looked at her with wide eyes; he had never heard Ginny say something like that… _ever_.  He looked at her red face filled with anger and decided that she still hated him for what he did last year – which was putting a spell that wherever she went, a sigh above her head that would read 'whore'.

He watched as Draco didn't remove his gaze from the window and didn't answer her.  Ron watched this whole exchange of words from his sister and his enemy before he piped in, "Answer her, Malfoy."

Harry continued to watch and observe as Draco quietly whispered, "I would rather not, Weasley."

That was all he said, and Harry's mouth almost dropped.  Draco didn't retort with a sneer or anything – something so unlike him.  Even Ron looked bewildered; Hermione was just staring at Draco in thought.  Ron tried again, "Afraid to say that your goons actually left you?"

Draco still didn't budge as he stared out of the window.  He just didn't answer him at all this time.  

At this point, Harry leaned forward slightly and tried to find out what was wrong with the Slytherin.  All he could conclude was that Draco looked slightly different – more pensive than when he ever seen him.

Draco's appearance didn't change a bit.  Sure, his hair had grown slightly longer and his shoulders were still broad.  His figure stayed the same… but Harry couldn't quite pinpoint what was so different about him.  _It's probably his eyes_, Harry guessed.  Harry remembered upon seeing them earlier when he first sat down – Draco's eye color changed from a sharp and piercing gray and mixed with a small color of blue.  Not that he was looking in Draco's eyes, of course.

Harry also noticed that Draco's fingers were still shaking and his eyebrows were brought together – almost as if he was concentrating.  He saw the slytherin tense up as he shifted in his seat, and his mind whirled.  

He could feel that Ron was about to say something even before he heard it.

"How was your summer at Death Eater camp?" Ron said unkindly, and the redheaded boy slowly started to smirk as Draco's body tensed even more.  Harry watched silently as Draco trained his eyes on Ron, and Harry could swear that if looks could kill, Ron would be dead.

"Don't make conclusions, Weasley," he said quietly.  He wasn't sneering, or smirking, and nothing on his face viewed his nasty attitude.

"You can't tell me what to do," Ron retorted, crossing his hands over his chest stubbornly.  Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed loudly while Draco continued to glare at Ron.

"I might not be able to, Weasley, but it would do us both good if you kept your mouth shut." He stated flatly then Harry could swear pain edged across Draco's face as the blonde looked at Harry's and Ginny's entwined fingers.  Ron didn't seem to notice as he stared at the blonde in confusion before he tried yet again, "Maybe I won't keep my mouth shut then."

Draco shook his head and looked back out the window, his arms crossed over his chest to sub-consciously stop the trembling.  Harry wondered what was wrong – Malfoy wasn't acting right.

And no sooner than what he was thinking, he heard the compartment door open.

---------- 

"Draco?" a demanding female's voice rang out as he turned his head to look at who stood at the door.  Pansy Parkinson was standing there with a look of pure bafflement.

"What are you doing here?  You know we always sit in the back," she glared slightly at Ron and Hermione, then her glare intensified when she looked at Ginny.  Her mouth turned upwards in a sneer when she looked at Harry.

"Is Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini there?" he asked curtly, and returned to look outside the window.  He could smell her perfume from where he was sitting.

"Yes… you know they always sit with us, dearest." She looked confused for a moment before she leaned against the door jam and looked at him quizzically.

"Then I'm not going there," he said a matter-of-flatly.  He wasn't going to sit with the people who ruined his life years later.  He would probably kill them right then and there if he went to the back of the compartment.  Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle were all part of his father's league in the future, and he was not.  He was sure that it started before he graduated Hogwarts.  

"Well… um.  Blaise wants you to accompany him," she started to say but Draco cut her off with an intense glare and narrowed eyes.  He almost stood up with a intimidating glare and was about to, but he kept himself seated and straightened himself.  It was like talking to a student, and really, he was.

"Tell Zabini to stuff it, Parkinson.  I refuse to go back with those beasts and you are not going to drag me there.  Magic or no Magic.  I'm not making the mistake again of hanging around with those idiots." 

Pansy took an uncertain step back and he could see from the corner of his eye that the trio's eyes were wide, and Ginny was staring at him with a wide opened mouth.  Pansy was about to say something else but she thought otherwise and Draco heard her mummer something about seeing him later, and with that, she closed the door quietly.

He exhaled a breath and looked out the window.  Pansy was his friend when he was older.  She made a few bad choices, but righted herself with Draco's instructions.  He would have to apologize to her later.  He needed to make this believable – that nothing was wrong with him… even if he was messing up horribly.

His other companions in the compartment were all shocked; they seriously didn't know how to handle this situation.  All of a sudden, Draco Malfoy's guard was down and he was not falling for any of Ron's attitudinal comments.  Secondly, he just told Pansy to get lost.

Draco could feel their suspicious gazes as he looked out the window.  He refused to look at any of them – especially Harry.  His shaking had decreased, but the familiar pang in his heart only increased.  He was talking to children.  His students were seventeen… he was thirty-one.  It made him feel slightly superior.  Then his mind started to drift to Harry who was sitting across from him.

He could smell him.  Harry had this particular scent that always made Draco want to curl up beside him and beg to be hugged or be embraced by him – to feel loved and surrounded in Harry's fragrance.  

He could see him from the corner of his eye.  Harry Potter never looked better, his face was bright and curiosity always was evident in his face.  His eyes were that vibrant green… not like the dull jade that Draco usually saw now a days.  But what Draco really loved was the messy hair.  He loved nuzzling his face in it and smelling the shampoo Harry always washed his hair with.  He loved how it enveloped his face, how it shaped his soul.  It was part of Harry.

And Draco could feel him.  He could feel him so close to him.  Harry once told him that he thought Draco was his soul mate, but Draco didn't know what he meant by that.  Harry explained that every time Draco entered the room, Harry could feel him.  He could feel him when he was scared, or in trouble, or if something was horribly, horribly wrong.  But Draco now knew what his lover meant – for he could feel him sitting across from him.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Hermione tapped him on the shoulder.  He looked at her without turning his face the whole way and then his eyes caught hold of the woman with a trolley.  

"Would you like anything dear?" she asked nicely, and then continued, "It's a long way to Hogwarts."

Draco smiled at her slightly and reached in his pocket.  He pulled out several galleons his mother had given to him on the carriage on the way to King's Cross.  

"Do you perhaps have snickers?" he asked her quietly, itching for that familiar chocolate taste only muggles could produce.  Harry was the one who introduced all the muggle sweets to Draco, and snickers were what he wanted.  He doubted the lady had it though, when she tilted her head quizzically.  He could feel Harry look at him curiously.

Malfoy eating a muggle candy?  It was unheard of.

"No dear, I'm sorry to say… we have lots of other sweets though," she smiled and started picking out some chocolate frogs when Draco stopped her with a wave of his hand.

"No, its okay.  Do you perhaps have… an apple or something?" he asked her quietly.  She looked surprised at his question, but her brown eyes twinkled.

"We have apples every year, dear, its just that no one has asked for them," she grinned widely and pulled out and apple from one of the trays, "It's good to see you young ones eat something healthy.  On a diet, are you now?" she gave him a playful wink as he leaned over and gave her the money.  He took the apple gratefully and put it in his lap as she gave him his change.

"Something like that…" it was true, anyway.  He was trying to maintain his figure.  His Auror days had gotten him used to eat things healthy.  He still felt very hungry… he didn't eat since that night in his colleague's quarters.  She gave him a small smile before she closed the compartment door and started on her way throughout the whole train.

He could feel his companions in the compartment watch him as he cleaned his apple with his muggle shirt.  He stood up and tucked one leg under his other one as he looked out the window.  He still refused to look at any of them.  To tell the truth, he didn't feel that alone anymore.  Harry was beside him.  Harry was alive.  His soul was with him.

They were silent for about fifteen minutes as Draco bit into the juicy apple, leaning back comfortably in his seat.  He tried not to look at his lover's entwined fingers with his sort-of-sister in law.  Knowing that Ginny would marry Colin made his trembling subside, but he still couldn't help feel a little bit of despair as he realized that would happen to his Harry.  

His Harry.  Harry belonged to him.  Not to her.  He glanced at their hands before he looked quickly out of the window again.

He now actually felt comfortable with Harry's presence so close to him.  Nothing bad was going to happen.  Nothing bad yet, anyway.  He bite into his apple, lost in thought, when Hermione asked him a question. 

"You like snickers, Malfoy?" she asked curiously and Draco could tell she was trying to be at least decent.  He had to remember to hug Hermione when he got back to his own time – if he ever got back... at least she was being nice.  Draco could see Ron give her a glare but she just gave him an even stare back and brushed some of her bushy hair out of her eyes.

"Yes, in fact I do," he told her, and bit into his apple again.  She looked surprised before she smirked, "Do you even know what Snickers are?"

Draco knew she was asking this because, well, snickers was a muggle sweet.  Considering she had many muggle sweets in her time, he shrugged and told her, "A muggle sweet, yes.  I also do know what Reese's pieces are, baby ruths, et cetera, et cetera."  He took another bite of his apple as she stared at him.

"How do you know that?  Those are muggle sweets…" she trailed off and brushed some of her brown hair out of her eyes.  She looked at him intently.

He just shrugged and swallowed his bitten piece of apple.  He looked at her evenly before turning around and looking out of the window.  He could still feel Harry's gaze on him… and he felt almost whole again.  

Even if Harry wasn't his yet in his dimension of time, he was just happy to see him again.  So close.  So happy.  

He ignored their conversation as they continued to talk to themselves, in cautious voices just in case Draco tried to be nasty to them.  Ron's defenses were up, and so were Ginny's.  Harry's, Draco could feel, was still looking at him curiously.

He heard Harry's voice speak softly… something about Quidditch and some other.  Draco felt his insides jump slightly when he heard Harry's voice again.  He still wouldn't look at him.  He knew if he stared in those eyes for more than a second, he would do something drastic…

But if it had anything to do with Harry, he thought in the back of his mind as he watched some birds fly on the other side of the glass, he wouldn't mind being embarrassed if it meant being with him… even for a moment.

---------- 

_He's ignoring me_, Harry thought to himself as Draco continued to look out the window.  Every time Harry tried to catch his gaze with his own, Draco ignored him.  He had been staring at the silent figure across from him for almost five hours, with a few words here and there when his friends asked him something.

Ginny stopped holding his hand a while ago because even he could feel it was slightly uncomfortable, and she was having a 'friendly' game of exploding snap with Ron… which consisted of bewildered yells and accusations.  Hermione got out a rather large book of charms and started reading upon them while Harry stayed silent.

  
Ron had given up trying to provoke Malfoy and had just ignored him like Draco ignored him.  Harry didn't feel like saving his friend from a fistfight anyway.

He heard something on the train intercom or something that was magically conducted upon their arrival of Hogwarts.  Hermione, Ron and Ginny already had their robes on – for they changed earlier; he and Draco were the only ones that didn't have it on.  He looked around in the small bag he was carrying that was by his side, and pulled out his robes.  

Standing up and turning his back to the Slytherin across from him, Harry unfolded his robes and turned around, heading towards the bathroom when he felt the train lurch backward and that is when he tumbled slightly and lost his balance.  He fell to his left and landed on something soft, and when he looked up, he could see only see the gray eyes of the Slytherin.  

Harry gasped as he saw so much emotion in those eyes, pain, suffering, hurt, loss… and an unhidden emotion that made his bushy eyebrows come together.  He was on top of the Slytherin's lap, practically, and he jumped off as soon as possibly mumbling an apology.  

Malfoy had felt so soft.  His fragrance surrounded Harry.   Harry subconsciously wondered if Draco's hand went around him or not, but decided that he didn't.  

He didn't feel the Slytherin's intense gaze as he left the compartment to go change.  If he did, he would have look back.

---------- 

_Oh fuck_, Draco said to himself as he felt his heart beating madly.  Harry just touched him, as in, he was on him.  He had put his hand around Harry again to stop him from hurting himself.

He had to get out of this reality before it drove him insane, and he prayed to whoever would listen to him at that moment to take him away, to be with his Harry, because he missed him terribly.  

He felt the train arrive minutes later and he stood up quickly, feeling Ron's slight glare and Hermione's curious one.  He was just about to exit their compartment without a word when he looked up and saw Harry.

Harry looked at him curiously as he brushed past without a word, but he shivered uncontrollably when he felt Harry's warmness against his coldness.  He ran out of the train faster than anyone else and made his way to Hogwarts by foot.

He had to find Dumbledore to bring him out of here.  He had to.  

******

-----TBC-----

**

* * *

_Every day I'm loving you more and more  
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings  
Telling me to give you everything  
Seasons may change, winter to spring  
But I love you until the end of time_

* * *

******Chapter Three**:  You will finally learn what happens to Harry. Yep.

******Notes**:  LOD will be coming out soon, don't worry.  Anyway, review?  Review and make me happy? ::smooches::


	3. The Greatest Pain

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of these characters, unfortunately.They all belong to JK Rowling, please don't sue.

**Notes**: Yes, I am aware that it has almost been two months since I have updated this story.Since it isn't in constant demand as LoD, I decided to update that first.So, I apologize.

I actually like this plot better than Lullaby of a Dragon, to tell the truth.I plan to make this a descriptive story, and even if it's kind of… cliché, the story anyway, I hope I make it original.****

**Rating**: Now, it's R.

**Pairing**: Draco/Harry. Duh.

**Author**: Mysticalsoul/Dorothy.

_

* * *

_

_If you want me like this   
And if you need me like that   
It was dead long ago   
But it's all coming back to me   
It's so hard to resist   
And it's all coming back to me   
I can barely recall   
But it's all coming back to me now   
But it's all coming back_

_

* * *

_

_He had to find Dumbledore to bring him out of here.He had to._

His breath was heavy as he ran all the way from the carriages outside of Hogwarts to the ground floor of the school, barely noticing the familiar warmth and tenderness that enveloped him once he stepped in.Passing through Nearly Headless Nick with nothing more than a shiver, he rounded the corridor of one of the longer, deserted hallways and made his way speedily to the Headmaster's office.

  
Two things were on his mind.One, was how was he to explain the tale he had just experienced?How was he going to phrase his words?To break the rules of the time-traveling system had hard consequences, and secondly, how could he tell the head master what happened to his life?What made him feel hopeless?

He brushed the second thought out of his mind as he turned around the corner.His footsteps made sharp sounds against the floors, and the candles flickered as he past them with such haste.He was almost there; he could see the gargoyle ahead of him.

"Mr. Malfoy, where do you think you are headed?" a sharp voice interrupted his steps, and he had no choice but to swivel around on his heels.His eyes caught hold of Professor McGonagall, and he blinked several times to make sure he was seeing correctly.

"_Minerva?"_ he whispered to himself, watching as she strode from a classroom door to stand in front of him, cutting him off from reaching his desired destination.She didn't hear him as she adjusted her spectacles on her nose, but she tilted her head up to show him her authority, not that he needed reminding.

He almost slapped himself a moment later when he realized what he had just called her._You half-wit, remember: You are seventeen here.You aren't allowed to call her by her given name!_

_ _

"Mr. Malfoy, you are expected to be in the Great Hall about this time.Better hurry now, you might be late for the feast!" She gave him no smile, no warm regard whatsoever as he peeked over her shoulder to the gargoyle staring meaningfully at him.He looked back at her, desperate, and pleaded, "Mi—Excuse me, Professor, I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore immediately regarding something extremely important."

Professor McGonagall attuned her spectacles and gave him a stern look.Adjusting a dirty and worn out looking book at her side, she spoke to him.

"I assure you, he will be there when the feast has ended.You are expected as Head Boy, to be at that feast.Come now." She strode past him in her emerald robe, and he looked desperately at the gargoyle just a few feet in front of him.

"Mr. Malfoy, now, if you please?" her voice spoke of complete authority, and there was no amusement in it.He turned to look at her still figure, and sighed in exhaustion as he had no other choice but to turn around and follow her, either that or have an owl sent home for his disobedience.

He followed her along the Hallway quietly, making sure to keep behind her instead of beside her.Arriving along the main hallway, he saw some noticeably younger years make their way into the Great Hall, and she stopped in her tracks, turning around to him.

"You can talk to the headmaster later," she said softly, adjusting the book, holding it securely to her chest.He sighed and nodded, and with one last, dejected look, he made his way to the Great Hall.

His steps echoed in his ears, and Draco took a deep breath before opening the doors to the familiar place he called his home.Draco reached up and opened the doors, the familiar Hogwart's essence a bit comforting to his senses, and he took a step in, unaware of the of eyes cast upon his figure.Surveying the area around him, he turned to the Slytherin table and walked towards it, remembering where he was supposed to sit at this time period.Striding past his usual group of seatmates, he made his way to the front of the table, beside a second year. 

The second year's eyes grew wide when Draco sat beside her, and she glanced to her friends around her, eyes disbelieving.Draco didn't notice.In fact, he didn't even notice the boy's green eyes on his features, studying him, the boy who was across the room seated at the Gryffindor table.Draco was so preoccupied with seeing his friends and year mate's so young, it was unbelievable.He only looked up when he saw the side door open, and walking in briskly was Headmaster Dumbledore. 

Dumbledore was looking remarkably different… Draco looked him over, sweeping his eyes over the old man's figure.There were bags under his eyes, the deep blue of his eyes were almost a sad periwinkle, and Draco remembered this was the time of the upcoming war.Dumbledore smiled at all of them, and when he turned to look at Draco, it looked like he had _nodded_.

The Great Hall's door opened, and Draco's head turned to look at what opened it.His gaze caught the recognizable emerald color of Professor McGonagall's robes, and he watched in silence as the first years followed after her, curiously looking around the main dining area.

He noticed that Melinda was one of the first years.She was looking around curiously like all the others, but when her gaze caught Draco's, she smiled widely.Draco gave her a small smile in return before everyone's gaze turned to Professor McGonagall as she went ahead of the first years and got out the stool, and amazingly, the Sorting Hat.

The first years peered around each other, trying to see what it was about.Draco watched as he briefly remembered his first year ever, being sorted, and he watched, quietly, as the song started.

The song was clear and loud, and everyone clapped when the Sorting Hat finished singing.The first name was being called out.

"Abley, Susanna," she called out loudly, and a small, trembling first year girl with pigtails stumbled to the platform.Draco watched as she lifted the hat and sat on the stool, only for it to call out her house ten seconds later.

"Hufflepuff!"

The Hufflepuff table cheered as she took the sorting hat with unstable hands.She walked over to them and sat beside an older boy, talking excitedly with him.Draco couldn't help but smirk a bit when he saw that.

The list went on, and then Professor McGonagall called out, "Bogtrottle, Melinda."

Draco perked his head up immediately upon hearing a name he recognized.He watched as Melinda, the small girl he was helping earlier in Kings Cross Station stumble on the stage, and she sat down with shaking shoulders, putting the hat on her head.

_Bogtrottle_? Draco thought to himself weakly, and watched with everyone else as she sat on the stool.The hat stayed on her for a couple of minutes, until, finally, it shouted out, "Gryffindor!"

She swayed as she stood up, and Draco watched carefully as she took the hat off shakily, making her way to the Gryffindor table.She looked over her shoulder at him for a second and smiled, before sitting down beside one of the prefects on the other side of the room.

_Bogtrottle?Melissa had a sister?_He asked himself; completely amazed that one of his student's siblings was attending this school the same time he was.Professor McGonagall continued to call out names, but Draco was only slightly aware of it.

When she had finished, Dumbledore was on his feet, clapping as everyone got sorted.Draco wanted to roll his eyes as he heard the same speech over again.

"Welcome," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes that were dull earlier turned to a bright blue, sparkling in the candlelight, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words.And they are: Book, difference, soul and honey cakes!Thank you!"

He sat back down after what seemed like a glance Draco's way again, and some of the older students laughed, while some of the first years that sat beside Draco looked around curiously to see what was so funny.Draco couldn't help but smirk when he heard those words… but something was different… he couldn't quite pinpoint it… but…

Suddenly, he could feel those eyes again.Without looking up, he knew who was staring at him.They were curious, he could tell without looking up, and they searched his face.Did he dare look up?

Taking a reasonable amount of courage, he lifted his gaze from his plate, and stared across the room at the beholder of the magic.Staring into his eyes halfway across the room, he could feel the magnetic pull between them, and he looked back down as his heart found the known cause of his distress.

He didn't look up again.

---------- 

_Finally_, he said to himself as he rushed to Dumbledore's quarters.He hoped it wouldn't be too late; after all, it was an hour after the feast ended, and having to do his head boy duties, he didn't have that much time.

Seeing the gargoyle in front of him, he rushed to it, throwing out a random password, hoping it would start to move.It didn't do anything.It continued to stare at him, and he swore it was giving him a look, saying, _You can do better_.

"Lemon-Drops," Draco said quickly and quietly, brows furrowing as the gargoyle continued to stay stationary.

He tried again, "Milky-way."

It didn't move, not one inch.Draco placed his hand on the Gargoyle's shoulder, and in a pleading voice, "Please let me in."

Of course, he had a little hope that it would take pity on him and let him in, but it didn't.Sighing, he tried again.

"Chocolate Frogs," he said quietly.

"Mr. Malfoy, I was hoping you would be seeing me," a wary voice said behind him, and Draco jumped a mile high at the voice that startled him out of his concentration.Turning around with lightning speed, he watched as Dumbledore took steps towards him, smiling tiredly at him.

"H-headmaster, I tried to come sooner, but—," he started out, but Dumbledore just held up his hand and brushed past him, leaning in and petting the gargoyle's head.Draco watched, confused, and leaned in absently when the Headmaster said the password, which was unmistakably 'Snickers'.

The headmaster gave him a small smile before he stepped back and waited as the gargoyle made way for him, and Draco followed quickly into the headmaster's office.

His tale was about to begin.

---------- 

"Would you like some tea, Mr. Malfoy?" the headmaster asked as he took out his wand, preparing tea for himself.Across from him, Draco shook his head and leaned forward in his seat, watching the old man make some tea.

"All right, what was it that you wanted to see me about, Draco?" the man asked quietly, peering through his spectacles.Draco cleared his throat quietly and said, "Um… It-it's about that note I sent you when I was at the Malfoy manor."

Dumbledore nodded and sipped his tea, and Draco continued without hesitation, "I need your help."

Dumbledore smiled slightly and his blue eyes sparkled, Draco noticed, and the old man nodded for Draco to continue.Sipping his tea, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair.

Draco took a deep breath and cradled his head in his hands.Quietly, and with new found strength, he said, "I'm from the future… I'm thirty one years old, a defense against the dark arts teacher and about two days ago, I arrived here through a mirror."

He looked up to see Dumbledore studying him.Silently, the old man leaned forward and placed the teacup on the saucer, and said gravely, "What mirror, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco looked up at this.He did expect a question like this, yes, but he would have been more assured if that weren't the first question.Quietly, "Um, The mirror of… I think it started with an 'E", I think…" Draco sounded a bit unsure, "Erised?"

Dumbledore nodded curtly, and said simply, "I see."

The elder wizard leaned back in his chair very slowly, seemingly thoughtful, and Draco blinked at his assessment.He watched as Dumbledore's face became expressionless, but filled with some hidden emotion that Draco couldn't quite identify.… Was this good?

"Sir, maybe … um, you didn't hear me," Draco tried again and sat on the edge of his chair.He continued quickly, "I'm a thirty one year old man stuck in a seventeen year old body, and please," he added, and the desperation that was evident in his voice became stronger, but the pitch of his voice became weaker, "send me back, please…"

Dumbledore looked at him for long moment, and Draco nervously cradled his head again.He looked up when Dumbledore cleared his throat softly, and he watched as the older wizard said, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco's worst fears were true.Letting out a shaky sigh, he ran his hand through his hair, biting his lower lip.

"You could go back if you saw that mirror again, though, Draco," the headmaster said softly, and Draco looked up into his eyes.They were that bright periwinkle he saw earlier, and his heart surged with hope.

"How do I do that, sir?" he whispered, and he watched as Dumbledore looked back at him, and said quietly, "You have to believe.Have you ever heard of the mirror of Erised, Draco?"

Draco shook his head, and Dumbledore continued in a solemn, quiet tone, studying the thirty-one-year old man in a seventeen-year-old body, "If you spell it backwards, Draco, it spells _Desire_."

Draco's heart stopped in its place for a fraction of a second._Of course, _he thought to himself, his brain taking in the obvious answer. Dumbledore quietly continued after sipping a cup of his tea, "Surely, you must have figured it out.In order for that mirror to take you time traveling, no doubt it must have been… something… unexplainable.An emotion unexplainable, a thing… unexplainable.Do you understand, Draco?"

Draco didn't.In fact, he was sorely confused.

The headmaster smiled gently, "The mirror of Erised doesn't make things come true, Draco.It makes one realize, though, whether we want to admit it or not, our deepest desire.I know I am asking a lot, but… do you mind if I ask what you saw in the mirror, when you looked into it?" 

Silence reigned between them, and Draco lifted his gaze.Biting his lip, he remembered one thing: a kiss, a kiss so pure and solid, it must have been real.

He spoke, "I was looking at something I lost… about a year ago.I loved him, he was my soul… headmaster," he whispered and his voice was strangled, and his own gray eyes became heavy, "I saw myself with my husband of seven years… I saw myself with my husband."

Dumbledore watched as the boy in front of him cover his mouth with his hand, and breath in a struggling breath.Dumbledore waited patiently as Draco continued after a while, getting his resolve back, "I just want him to be with me again.Alive… well."

And with that, Draco sighed, and all he needed to tell Dumbledore… was finished.

"Ah.I see," the old man nodded, and pushed up his spectacles on his nose, "Like I said before… the mirror of Erised doesn't make things come true.It just makes us realize what our… deepest desire is.Like I told a small first year a long time ago, it does not do well to dwell on dreams.Many have wasted in front of the mirror of Erised, Draco…"

He trailed off quietly to see Draco staring off into space.After a while, Draco looked at him, face filled with emotion, and he said quietly, "Then why did it do this to me?Why am I here?What do I have to do to get back?"

Dumbledore said in the kindest, warmest tone he could, looking straight into Draco's eyes as he did so, "It did it to you because you hide something, Draco.You're here because you have to learn not to give up hope… hope for what ever reason you are here for… and the only way to get back is if you fulfill your destiny, taking one step at a time, learning from your mistakes, trusting the right people, and deserting the disloyal.You, my boy, are here for a reason… never forget that your fate rests here…"

Draco watched as the old man finished.The warm, kind, encouraging blue eyes sparkled in the candle light, and Draco looked down, resting his thoughts, processing the new information.

_You are here for a reason; your fate rests here, at this time, in this place._Draco looked up again, and with newfound determination, stood up steadily and he nodded.

The older man smiled and stood up as well, extending his hand.Draco shook it and trusted him, and he took a step back.Turning around without another word from his mouth, he made his way to the door, the new information spread out before him.

"Draco?" the headmaster said quietly, and Draco looked over his shoulder to see the man sipping his tea in his chair.Draco smiled and tilted his head, some of his hair splaying over his forehead, and waited for Dumbledore's wise words.

"Please, call me Albus when we talk in private," Dumbledore smiled, and Draco blinked a few times before he smirked slightly, and turned around and left, but not before saying goodnight.

---------- 

Making his way to the potion's classroom, Draco thought of the information given to him by his advisor.The candles in the hallway flickered as he walked past them, swaying on the wick.

It was already eleven o'clock, and he was supposed to be in bed for the new school day tomorrow, but recalling to himself that he was the head boy, he smiled as he remembered the privileges.

He was on his way to Professor Snape's room, needing a sleeping potion for tonight and the rest of the week.He doubted that he could get a reasonable amount of sleep and wake up the next morning with a big smile on his features.

Arriving at his destination, he knocked on the door with his knuckles and heard the sharp sound as it projected into the hall.He waited quietly in his place, hands in his pockets, waiting for Professor Snape to open the door.

He heard mild shuffling on the other side of the wooden door, and in a second, it opened.Draco stood there, staring up into the pale face of the potion's master, and said politely, "Good evening Professor."

The potions professor looked exceptionally younger, the wrinkles gone and the glare in his eye gave Draco a shiver.Snape raised an eyebrow and stepped into the hallway, halfway into the corridor Snape would classify as 'forbidden', and halfway into the safe confides of his potion's classroom.

"Mr. Malfoy," the older man drawled out, "I do hope you have come to disturb me for something important."

Draco smiled slightly and wondered why Harry had hated this man.In a quiet voice, leaning in, "I was wondering if it would be possible to obtain some sleeping draughts, Professor."

If Professor Snape was curious, he didn't show it.Instead, he backed away from the door and opened it for his student, watching Draco with his beady black eyes as the Slytherin walked into the cool room.

Professor Snape beckoned Draco alongside him as he made his way to his personal chambers, and Draco followed closely, looking around the darkened room to which his eyes quickly adjusted to.He followed Snape into his chambers and waited patiently by the door while Snape went in the bathroom, his robes fluttering behind him.

From the bathroom came a few sounds of glasses, maybe beakers or test tubes being clinked together, and then a soft voice spoke, "I presume you didn't have a good summer before school started."

Draco thought of that ironic question in his mind before he answered carefully, gently, keeping his voice above a whisper so it was audible enough for the elder man to hear, "No sir.In fact… this last year has been harsh on me."

Snape's head appeared in the doorjamb between the bathroom and his bedroom.Raising an eyebrow and coming out completely, he held a week's worth of sleeping draughts in his hands.He beckoned Draco to a chair beside his fireplace, and Draco sat down slowly, watching as the elder man sat opposite of him, holding the potions securely in his possession.

Draco stared at him while Snape stared back, the small fire in the fireplace slowly building up with each second he sat there.Not wanting to start anything, he waited for Snape to speak.

It took several seconds for Snape to talk, but finally, the elder man leaned forward with a raised eyebrow and drawled out in his monotone voice, "Would you care to share with me your thoughts, Draco?It is my duty as the Slytherin Head to assist my pupils."

Draco couldn't help but smile sadly, and he sat up erect, placing his entwined fingers on his lap.Quietly, he said, "It's nothing much sir.Just… it's just going to be a bit different this year."

Snape's raised eyebrow became two raised eyebrows, and Draco thought how the room became _warmer_ the longer he sat there, either because of the building fire, or just talking with a man he trusted.He continued with a small smirk, "Nothing to embarrass the Slytherin house, of course."

A small smirk appeared on the man's lips across from him.Snape gave Draco a small smile, which Draco took as a sign of encouragement, and he continued in a soft voice, looking into the fire, "If I told you the truth, you would probably think I was crazy."

Snape leaned forward and handed the draughts to Draco, knowing now that Draco wouldn't leave even if he had those in his possession.Leaning back in his chair across from the blond Slytherin, Draco could feel Snape's gaze sweep over his face, and in that same voice which Draco found so irritating and so comforting at the same time, he spoke, "Mr. Malfoy..." he paused, "I have seen many mad people in my lifetime, and I highly doubt someone with your mental strength would even come close to the word 'crazy'.Please don't waste my valuable time telling me excuses when you know just as well as I do that in order for me to understand my pup—," but he was cut off by Draco's small chuckle.Raising an eyebrow, and looking sorely amused and irritated to his favored student, he asked, "Might I ask what is so amusing, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco shook his head and smiled, not before running his hand through his hair again.He said, amused, "Professor.I got it.If only Harry could see what a great bloke you were now, he would have trusted you sooner."

"Harry?" there was little amusement in the Professor's voice now.Looking at him with his beady black eyes, his lips curled up in a sneer, distaste was clearly written all over his face.

Draco even smiled at this amusing ironic scene before him.Glancing briefly around the room, from the fireplace to the stack of potion books, his eyes caught hold of 'The Encyclopedia of Mixed Potions, Volume 5'.

Quietly, in a small voice and without looking at Professor Snape, "You know there is going to be a volume 8, by the time I'm 25?It's going to be labeled as the 'Death Potions of the existing era'." 

He turned his head to look at the surprised Professor Snape.Giving him a small, smug smirk, he leaned back carefully in his chair, not before setting the sleeping draughts to the side of his feet.With his hands still in his lap, he waited, and he was patiently rewarded with the monotonic voice of Professor Snape mixed with confusion and slight disbelief, "The creators of those books claimed there was not going to be any more potions.They also claimed, that if there _were_ going to be more, it wouldn't be for another twenty five years."

Draco shrugged and continued, smiling sadly, "They're wrong.They will make one when I'm 19, called 'Volume six, the 100 ways to make a poisonous potion properly.When I'm 23, they will make 'Volume Seven, the 300 most difficult potions of all time', and when I'm 24, they will have'Volume eight, Death Potions of the existing era'."

He smiled at the amazed face of the Professor.He smirked inwardly when Snape gawked at him for a second before he closed his mouth, putting a hand over it.Draco said quickly, looking at his lap, "There are currently only 82 ways to make a proper poisonous potion, but when I'm 19, they will have 100.I hear they are now coming out with a new one, 'Volume Nine, What to add in case your potion turns yellow'."

Snape's eyes did not waver from his face, and Draco looked towards the fireplace.Both of them didn't speak for a long time, and when someone finally did break the silence, it was Professor Snape's perplexed voice.

"My boy, how do you know this will happen?"

Closing his eyes, the last thing Draco remembered seeing was the different colors of the flame beside him, the flame mixing with orange, red and bright yellow.How they claimed the room with warmth and captured his eyes to look at them, to memorize it… and with his heart and his soul and his strength entwined as one, and with the flame and the eternal warmness as his guide, he spoke softly, words flowing from his lips like a song, "I'm a thirty-one-year-old, Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from the future stuck in my seventeen year old body.I am here because I have to do something.I don't know what, I don't know why… though, I have a clue," he paused, and he licked his dry lips, "and I'm stuck here... until I fix something."

And he opened his eyes, not surprised to see that it was hard to look at the man in front of him because of the emotion.Snape leaned forward after what seemed like an eternity, his expression still, and all emotion erased from his face except for a curious gleam in his black eyes.He looked Draco's features up and down, starting with his face, and then into his eyes, searching to see if what Draco just told him was true.

Draco just smiled at him and said shakily, after taking a deep breath, "Do you believe me, Severus?"

Snape continued to look at him for the longest time Draco thought someone _could_ look at someone else, and finally, he replied, "Yes.For some strange, uncanny reason unknown to Muggle and Wizards, I do believe you, Draco."

Draco breathed out quietly and nodded.Looking down at his hands, he smiled sadly.They stayed in silence for a minute longer, and Draco spoke gently, "I bet you want to know some stuff about the future… and yes, you are still the Potion's Professor even after 13 years.I am your colleague, and we enjoy our late night talks about the delicacy of Bolivian coffee and the differences of the Egyptian potions and the ancient Aztec draughts."

Draco smiled.Snape stared.They both burst out laughing a second later.

When Snape finally regained his rational, his lips were curled up into a smirk, and in that familiar monotone drawl, he asked, "Would you like some Bolivian Coffee, Mr. Malfoy?Or, perhaps, something stronger?"

Draco smiled and replied with a smirk of his own, which left them both delighted, "Something stronger."

---------- 

"Do tell me, Draco," Snape paused as they both settled down opposite each other, each holding a glass of alcohol, "Do we end up winning the war?"

Draco gave him a look before he continued, "Yes, in fact, we do.We almost lost, and we lost many people… but, we won," Draco then smirked, "And you will never believe who helped us find out the dark lord's plans."

Draco figured that if no one had said anything to him in the future about what he was planning to say right now, that it would be tolerable to tell Professor Snape about the upcoming events.

Professor Snape's eyebrows shot up as he smirked, "Was it Parkinson?"

Draco chuckled and shook his head._Snape'll probably kill himself when he finds out who it was._

"One of the Weasley boys?" Draco shook his head again, his smug smile becoming wider.Even though the Weasley's helped a great deal of the war effort, they weren't that person.

Draco watched as the older man looked into the roaring fire.It was already past twelve, but both were awake.Draco watched as Snape sipped his drink again and shook his head, clearly and utterly confused.

"You wouldn't believe me.In fact, you would protest and claim I was wrong," Draco smirked and shifted in his chair, taking a small sip.Snape still wouldn't look at him, so Draco continued, "You always called him an idiot.He was placed in Gryffindor for a reason… come on Severus, you can guess."

Snape looked at him, and then finally, "Is it one of the Creevey boys?"

Draco smiled, and he could see that Snape was about to proclaim his victory, but Draco said with a smug smirk, "Nope."

Snape's face dropped and he sneered at Draco mockingly.Finally, he barked, "Well, come on boy, spit it out.Who is it?"

Draco's smile was about the size of Hogwarts, when he finally emphasized each and every syllable of the name on the tip of his tongue, "Neville Longbottom."

Snape almost dropped his glass, and he sputtered, looking utterly bewildered like Draco was guessing, "Longbottom?!Him?!What did he do to claim such fame?"

Draco shrugged and said simply, "No one believed he could help in the war, but they invited him to a meeting.After all, we needed all the help we could get.When no one would volunteer to be one of the spies and risk the opportunity of getting killed, he volunteered without hesitation.Everyone thought he would be killed, and tried to convince him otherwise not to go, but he rejected their efforts… and he pretended to go to their side.The next day we weren't expecting an owl back from him since he had made his journey, but we got one.And it said he got in.I suspect no one there on the dark side thought he would be much nuisance, and they were desperate," and Draco smiled, shifted in his place, and took a sip of his drink before he continued, "And he was the one that made the healing potions for their side.What they didn't know was that the healing draughts were actually poisonous, and after three days their numbers started falling.That's why they couldn't blame him right away or kill him for that matter when they all started to die.He must have killed at least fifty or so Death Eaters.Good for him." Draco finished darkly.

The blond boy could feel Snape's incredulous gaze sweep over his face, and he looked straight in his eye, looking to see what Snape thought without even asking him.Draco remembered that it was hard to grasp the news that _Neville Longbottom_ who had been so weak at school… had killed so many people.

Snape watched as Draco spoke, hardly believing, and he drawled out, utterly perplexed and terrified at the same time, "And what has now happened to Mr. Longbottom?"

"He is now in Saint Mungo's," he continued before Snape could make an assessment, "It was a bit hard for him, unfortunately, he had seen some pretty awful stuff while he was under the Dark Lord's presence.Though, after he was cured, his wife ended up being Susan Bones from Hufflepuff... she ended up falling in love with him and he with her.Now, they both help the patients there, treat them and properly take care of them."

Snape leaned back in his chair as Draco continued, and Draco's eyes slowly started to become dull, losing the only sparkle left in them that reflected from the flames, "I see them once in a while."

Draco was glad Snape didn't ask a question about that; he really didn't feel like explaining why he went there.They sat in silence for a moment, and Draco forced a smile when Snape whispered, 'Longbottom', and shook his head.

Draco took another sip of his drink, looking back into the flames.Thinking back, every time he saw Neville and Susan, they were always holding hands, kissing when they thought no one was looking, sharing some hidden secret only spoken between them.

Draco snapped back into attention when he saw Snape shift from the corner of his eye.Seeing Snape give him a look, he realized that Snape asked him a question.Quickly, "Sorry Severus, I was thinking something.Could you repeat the question?"

Snape drawled out, "And what about you?What have you done after school, besides becoming a teacher?"

Draco looked down slowly, to his lap.He whispered, "I got married."

Draco could feel Snape's smile, but then that started to fade, as Draco didn't meet his eyes.Even the fire could feel something was wrong, for it died down some, into a mellow flame that filled the room with sympathy.Snape didn't ask any more questions, but Draco sighed, and continued, "I married a very beautiful person.We went to school together, and," he paused, "We went through a lot together," then he whispered to himself more than to Snape, "I miss him."

Snape leaned forward, and said quietly, "What was that, Draco?"

Draco looked up, and with a steady voice that was hard for him to control, he whispered a reply, "I miss him." And he looked back down, to his lap.

If Snape was disgusted, revolted, saddened, or confused, he didn't show it.The man's face was clear of emotion once again, but he shifted in his seat and patiently waited for Draco to continue.

Inhaling a shaking breath, Draco looked up into the black, understanding eyes of the potion's master.He smiled sadly, and his smile was returned by a reluctant smile from the Professor, and with that small encouragement, he spoke, "It's hard for me to sleep at night.I see him sometimes," he licked his dry lips, "in my dreams.You'll probably never guess who this person is either, in fact, you will probably faint when you hear his name."

Snape drawled out, "Is it, or does it have something to do with Harry Potter?"

Draco looked up quickly to see the same small smile on the Professor's lips.Clearly, it was forced even, he had to admit, but it was a smile all the same.Amazed, he said quietly, "How did you know it was him?"

It was Snape's turn to give him a smug smile.He said, "Well, beside saying his name earlier, Mr. Malfoy, I saw him give you the eye today in the Great Hall.He was looking at you throughout dinner, I assume something happened on the train."

Draco nodded, confirming Snape's suspicion.With a sad smile, he said gently, "We had a bit of a run-in."

Snape nodded and tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear.Draco looked into the fire once again, and his eyes caught hold of the blue sparkle in the middle of it.

// Draco fell to his knees on the hard hospital floor, and the words echoed through his mind over and over and over again._There is no cure, Mr. Malfoy.We tried to save him, we tried to find a cure, but there is none._

He didn't feel Hermione's arms envelope him in a hug, nor did he hear Ron's whisper of denial above him.He wasn't crying, he couldn't… _Harry is alive, he's alive, he's sane, and there is a cure_.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said quietly, but Draco jerked away from Hermione, causing her to fall back and loose her balance.Standing up with a shaking body, he hissed towards Ron, Hermione and the doctor, "I don't believe it.I _don't_ believe it," his voice cracked when he said it the second time, and he shook his head, blocking out the mental images now forging in his skull.

"D-Draco," Hermione whispered while standing up, tears trailing down her face.He looked down, away from her.He looked away from Ron, who was shaking and trembling from head to foot, just like he was.

"No, stop fucking saying that there is no cure, there is one!There _is_ one!" he said shrilly, taking another step back, refusing to look up.He felt Hermione hug him again, and this time, he didn't pull away, he couldn't…

"No, no, no, no, no," he whispered in her neck, and he wrapped his arms around her, _no no no no no no_, he told himself as the scene around him faded into black. \\

"Draco?" he vaguely heard across the room, but he continued to stare into the blue flame the fire was giving.He wasn't aware that tears and wetness escaped his eyes and ran down his cheeks until he reached up to his face and touched it.Sitting erect, he drew in a rather shuddering breath and wiped his cheeks, embarrassed to have been crying again.Looking at the man across from him who was looking at him with concerned features, he shook his head and forced a small smile, wiping his eyes while mumbling, "Just remembered something, sorry, can you repeat the question?"

"What happened to Mr. Potter, might I ask?Surely something must have happened for your emotions to spill forth…" Snape trailed off, but he was still leaning forward on his seat. 

  
Draco smiled despite himself at Snape's question.Figuring it would be the most concerned thing he would get from this man's lips, he sighed and took in another small, shuddering breath.Exhaling it a minute later, and gaining some resolve, he looked up into the black eyes, and said simply, hoping he didn't sound that pathetic as he was feeling, "Harry got captured, by Dementors.They wanted revenge, and before any one of us could save him, t-th-they kissed him."

Snape studied him wordlessly.Draco whispered while looking to his lap, "I guess you were somewhere when Harry got kissed… because you didn't save him." He trailed off quietly, but his tone wasn't accusing.

As he shifted, more tears ran down his face. He didn't even bother trying to wipe them away, because he knew more would just replace them.He could feel Snape's body shift across from him, and when he looked up, Snape was looking into the fire.Draco continued shakily, and his voice wavered, "He's in Saint Mungo's.Just… two days ago, it was a year since the incident.I've given up hope to bring him back, because there is no possible way to do so.They burned the information and outlawed the cure before Harry was even kissed…" he sighed and cradled his head.Tears flowed from his eyes and he sighed again."A-and even if I did find the information… by some miracle, it would be hard, because it is a dangerous process to bring back the soul of someone who got a kiss from a Dementor."

Looking up, he watched the expressions of the Potion Master.The man was looking into the fire, no expression evident on his face, and his drink was placed on a table beside them.Draco watched as Snape turned to look at him, and with a small smile, which made Draco blink, he said, "Maybe, Mr. Malfoy, that is why you are here.To find that information."

Draco gawked at him for a minute before realizing his mouth was open._Of course!Of course of course of course!Why didn't you think of it before?!_

"Of course," he whispered, voicing out his thoughts, but his peaking attitude decreased instantly, and he frowned, "It won't be in the library.Those books are valuable, if so… and I doubt the Headmaster would allow those kinds of books _here_ of all places where kids are able to pick them up and read them."

Snape smiled, a true, wide smile, and his eyes gleamed.Softly, he said while leaning in and placing a bony finger on Draco's shoulder, he said, "You have to have hope, Draco.You have to have hope."

And Draco smiled, amidst his tears, and nodded.And with that, he stood up and shook the Potion Master's hand, his friend's hand, his advisor, and he left with a small smile and his sleeping draughts, walking to his own private quarters.

---------- 

_Is this my room?_ Draco thought to himself as he stepped in the Head Boy's room.Thankful, for once, that he had worked his ass off in school enough to be given this position with this privilege; he looked around the small room, and smiled absently.Glad to see his trunk already at the side of his room and a small fire in the small fireplace, with a desk to the side of his bed, he felt he could get used at this small arrangement.

He looked to the side and saw a door that led towards the bathroom before he looked to the small fire.Walking over to it, he watched as it cackled at him and smiled absently, suddenly feeling like something heavy had risen out of him and made him free again.

Sighing, and looking at his watch, he kicked off his shoes like he had done so many times before and climbed into bed, not even bothering to change.Leaning over to the bedside table where he left his sleeping draughts, he took the stopper out of one of the test tubes, and took a large sip out of one of the test tubes, swallowing it and cringing at the familiar taste of the potion.

Sighing again, he reclined back and lay down properly on his new bed, and soon enough, the purpose of the potion took its effect, taking him into a dreamless sleep.

----------

// "Mm, Draco?" Harry asked sleepily, entwining his legs with Draco's, tucking his head under the blonde man's.Draco inhaled the familiar smell of the rain that washed through his nostrils, only to bury his face completely in Harry's hair, kissing his head.

"Mmm?" Draco replied just as sleepily, curling up his legs with Harry's, feeling Harry's arms go around his waist.Harry didn't answer for a while, but when he did, it was nothing more than a whisper against Draco's collarbone, and Draco had to shift on the bed to hear what Harry had said.Quietly, Draco asked, "What?"

"I said I want to marry you, be yours forever," Harry sighed into his neck and pulled him closer, clutching Draco to him."Marry me, Draco?" Harry tilted his head and looked up into the pale features, and he was rewarded with seeing Draco's eyes sparkle silver – and Harry knew his answer even before Draco spoke the word, "_Yes._"

-----**TBC**-----

_ _

_

* * *

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Every day I'm loving you more and more  
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings  
Telling me to give you everything  
Seasons may change, winter to spring  
But I love you until the end of time

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* * *

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**Chapter Four**:Harry begins to wonder what's happening with his partner in fighting.Why is Draco so quiet, better yet, what does Harry catch in the Astronomy tower?

  
The lyrics were by Moulin Rouge (the soundtrack, not sure who sings it).The song is, 'Come what May'.

Thank you to my beta!What would I do without you?


	4. Solitude

**Disclaimer**: I don't any of these characters; they all belong to JK Rowling.

**Notes**:  Hopefully, you guys will enjoy this chapter.  Encouragement appreciated.

**Rating**:  R.  

* * *

A Soul Mate's Story 

**Chapter Four: Solitude**

* * *

_I finished crying the moment that you left_

_And I can't remember where or when or how_

And I banished every moment you and I have ever made 

* * *

Draco's eyelids fluttered open delicately once he was conscious enough to realize that the sunlight was resting upon them.  Yawning quietly and turning over to sleep in, he suddenly remembered where he was, and when it was.  Shivering, and pulling the bed covers up to his chin, he blinked several times at the sunshine and the sound of birds chirping outside his small window.  

_Time to start,_ Draco told himself, making a small noise in the back of his throat as he started to sit up, propping himself up by his elbows.  Looking around sleepily, he cursed himself his eyes caught a hold of his baggage, remembering that he would have to sort it out later.  He groggily got out of bed and ran a hand through his silky hair, before he put that hand down and ran it up the other arm in attempt to make it warmer.

Reluctantly, he made his way to his trunk and squatted in front of it.  As he looked at his watch sleepily, his eyes widened once he realized what time it was.

_Shite, I missed breakfast_, Draco told himself, and at that point, he woke up completely.  Digging through his old school trunk looking for his daily attire, he cringed as he consciously remembered that he wouldn't be able to take a shower.  _Shite, where do I get my schedule?  Damit!_

Quickly grabbing some pants, a shirt, a tie and robes for today, he hastily put them on, also trying to stuff all his books and quills in his school bag at the same time.  Finally having done all that, he grabbed his Head Boy key, and put his head boy badge on, and rushed out the door, not before locking it.  

Running down to the Great Hall, he bumped and nudged several younger years in his attempt to get there faster.  Jerking open the doors, he breathed a sigh of relief as he continued walking inside to see Professor Snape passing out schedules with a sneer upon his face.  Walking over to him with lengthy strides, Draco sighed deeply as he guessed what his first class would be.  

_I'll probably excel in Muggle Studies… probably everything_, he said to himself as he lined up for his schedule, obviously not the only one to wake up late.  Finally, he reached the beginning of the small line and smiled as Snape smirked at him.

"You look like you need some Bolivian coffee, Mr. Malfoy," he drawled out quietly, flipping through the schedules to give one to his favorite student.  Draco couldn't help but chuckle quietly as he reached out and took his schedule when Snape gave it to him. 

Moving away from the line so the next person could receive their schedule, he smiled ironically as he saw what was the first class.  Potions.  Shaking his head and putting his schedule in his pocket, he hastily made his way to the Potion's classroom, hoping not to be tardy.

He passed several paintings whispering quietly to themselves, and smiled as he realized again, that Draco would be reliving his seventh year at Hogwarts.  As Draco walked, he smirked to himself as he remembered something Hermione had said to him.

'_I still don't know why you beat my scores in seventh year, Malfoy!' _she had said, and every time she did, Draco smirked but without knowing why himself.  

Turning the familiar corridor to make his way to the Potion's classroom, he suddenly felt his heart drop.  He remembered something… every single year of attending his school – there was always one class, which made school enjoyable.  It was Potions… with Gryffindors, meaning, Harry would be there.  

Slowing down in his steps, he arrived at the door that he had once considered Potions to be his favorite class, but now…

He opened the door, feeling the cold air surround him.  Class hasn't started yet, but several seventh years looked towards the door when he walked through it.  Feeling a bit self-conscious, he hastily made his way to the front of the room.  

"Psst, Malfoy, over here!" someone called over his shoulder and he turned around only to see Blaise Zabini gesture him over, taking his bag off a chair he had saved for Malfoy.  Draco sneered instantly, feeling the suppressed anger built up at each millisecond he stared at Zabini, and he could see Blaise blink several times in confusion, but before Draco could do something he would regret, the door banged open, and in came the Potion's master.  

Taking this as a sign to calm down and not to kill anyone just yet, he scowled towards Blaise and made his way to the front, the first time in all the years he had attended Hogwarts not sitting beside Blaise or any of his own lackeys.  Instead, he took the empty seat beside Pansy Parkinson in the second row of the Slytherin side of the room, and she blinked as he sat beside her huffily.

He noticed that she was tense beside him, and he looked over to see her looking at her lap.  Nervously licking her lips, she flashed him a small smile before she moved over her parchments to make room for his.  Giving her a small smile in return, he leaned in and muttered, "I'll talk to you later."

Giving him a small nod, Pansy, unanimously with the rest of the class, turned her attention to Snape.  He was checking the roll, and he sneered at all of them menacingly when he was finished, and Draco smirked despite himself as he realized that the sneer was a welcome to the last year at Hogwarts.  

"Copy the information on the board about Truth Serums and that's what you will be working on next Monday.  A test will be given out after you work on it, and I shall assign partners." 

Draco chuckled to himself silently, only to earn a curious look from Pansy beside him.  Shaking his head, he smiled as he started to work, and for once in his life, he felt like he was seventeen again**.** Not thirty-one, but seventeen.

---------- 

Draco made his way to his quarters when evening came, not even bothering to go to the Great Hall to eat dinner because he knew that Harry would be there, holding hands with Ginny Weasley, maybe kissing her, and even if Draco knew the ending of that little escapade, he still couldn't help but feel jealous.

Dumping his bag and ignoring the grumbling sounds in his stomach, he kicked off his shoes and threw his socks on the floor untidily.  Making his way to the bathroom, he thought back to what happened in the Potion's classroom once he had finished copying the assignment earlier that day.

Harry was staring at him throughout the assignment they were supposed to be doing.  As Draco worked, Harry would peek over Hermione and gaze at him, daring Draco to look at him, but the thing was, Draco never looked up.  He couldn't.  He knew that if he stared into those green eyes, he could get lost.  He would act the same way as he did on the train, he would shake, he would tremble, he would wish to be sent back to his own time so he didn't have to see Harry's face and feel hopeless; because he couldn't save him, because he can't now, there was no possible way to help him.  

So, Draco had ignored him, as much as it hurt.  He felt Harry though, Draco admitted to himself, there was no denying the feeling.  It was absurd, really, but Draco was so attuned to Harry's feelings and Harry's soul, that he knew the most abnormal things about him.  Draco knew when Harry felt nervous, because he would stay quiet, and Draco would hear the soft biting of nails.  Sometimes, when Harry got scared, he could hear, or rather, feel Harry's heartbeat across the room.  Draco didn't know _how_ he got so close to Harry… maybe the seven years of marriage did it for him, because when Harry was near him, Draco studied him secretly.

Presently, he sighed as he took off his clothes and turned on the hot water in the bathroom.  Looking in the mirror as he waited for the water to heat up, he was glad he had the courage to ask Snape for those sleeping draughts, because now the bags under his eyes were not visible.  

The first weeks of when Draco heard of Harry's… accident, the sleeping draught was a drug.  It was an addiction.  Better yet, at that time, it was a savior.  There were no dreams, no judges of his fate, of his emotions, of his mental status.  There was nothing, and he needed that.

Seeing the steam rise up in the bathroom, he stepped in the shower, sighing in gratefulness as he felt the security of the warm water.  

And in the back of his mind, he wondered what Harry was doing at this point in time.

---------- 

"Are you sure, Harry?" Hermione asked after she took a sip of the pumpkin juice from her goblet.  Harry nodded beside her and pushed his glasses on his nose, staring at his full plate before him.  

"Oi, you eating that then?" Ron asked before he answered Dean's question about Wizard artists.  Not waiting for Harry to answer, Ron picked up Harry's bread roll and turned back to the boy on his left.  

"No," Harry said quietly, rolling his eyes when Ron didn't hear it.  Turning back to Hermione with a thoughtful expression on his face, "I'm sure.  I mean… have you noticed the way he has been acting?"

"Oh Harry, just because Malfoy is not bothering you, doesn't mean something is wrong.  Though, it is rather peculiar… I just think he's matured, really," she said a matter-of-factly after a moment's thought.

"Matured?  Hermione, this is Malfoy Harry is talking about.  Honestly, matured?  Remember what he did to Ginny last year?  How could someone evolve from that, eh?  Answer me that!" Ron said to his girl friend, giving her a challenging look.  Harry couldn't help but smile as he heard his two friends getting riled up for a quarrel, a useless quarrel that would only be over after a muttered 'sorry', usually from Ron's side, but a quarrel all the same.

He waited for them to stop quarreling, and soon enough, within ten minutes, both of them were quiet and staring at their plates.  Harry decided to move in and speak quietly to Hermione.

"It's obvious something has happened over the summer.  Someone can't change from a total prick to some… decent person in a matter of months unless something big happened." Harry concluded, pushing his plate towards Ron as Ron started to get something from his plate again.

"True, Harry, that can be one conclusion," Hermione said quietly, taking another sip of her pumpkin juice.  Harry sighed, but turned when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder.  Turning to his right, he smiled absently when he saw Ginny lean in and kiss his cheek, blushing when he felt her wipe something off of his face.

"Hello Harry," she said quietly before asking her brother to scoot over some so she could sit beside her boyfriend.  Harry scooted a bit himself, and Ginny sat between them both, her hand snaking down to find Harry's, and they secretly held hands under the table.

"Hello," he said shyly, squeezing her hand under the table, and at that moment, he forgot all about Draco Malfoy.

---------- 

The next two weeks were difficult for Draco Malfoy.  He was so used to living out on his own, and not used to attending classes like a student, that the arrived late for almost every class.  He aroused suspicion in Harry the more he skipped meals, and Harry noticed despite his hate for Draco Malfoy that the blond student was getting thinner.

The second Sunday of their arrival back at school, both Harry and Ginny were on the Gryffindor couch holding hands, staring into the fire and talking quietly.  Harry stopped once in a while to think of how bothersome Malfoy was even if he wasn't doing anything!  The last two weeks since their arrival at Hogwarts, Malfoy hadn't even made a rude remark to any of his friends, also raising suspicion from his fellow housemates.  Malfoy didn't snap, didn't bark, and he didn't draw attention to himself which was unlike him.  In fact, in the two weeks since their arrival at Hogwarts, Harry would always look up to see Malfoy staring at him, only to drop his gaze a second later.    

"Is something the matter, Harry?  You've been distracted lately… are you okay?" Ginny's worried voice rang through Harry's ears, and he turned to look at her.  Smiling gently, he leaned over and kissed her, inhaling her scent of strawberries and kiwis.  Murmuring against her lips, he whispered, "No, nothing.  I've never been better."

Feeling Ginny smile against his lips, he felt her arms go around his neck, getting shivers up his spine.  She played with the hair on the back of his neck with her fingertips, and she leaned in, kissing him against, capturing his bottom lip between both of hers.  

When he kissed her, she smelled of happiness, and swirls of magic mixed with honeysuckle.  She breathed forgiveness; a small, quiet girl with a heart of gold, and Harry couldn't help but feel in the back of his mind… how… _different_ he thought she would be.  Both had matured and grown up throughout the years, and finally, he was glad that Malfoy wouldn't mess this year up for them. For one thing, he didn't seem like he was interested. 

----------

Draco inhaled deeply as he looked out his small window in his room.  He still wasn't used to the Slytherin dormitories, hardly even visiting down there since he graduated, and was glad his father's house elf packed a sweater in his trunk.  He had been hiding in his dorm room all this weekend, only going into the Great Hall in the early morning to grab some food and make his way back up.  Glad that the prefects had to do the 'aiding' part to the others for the month of September, he cringed as he remembered that he would also have to help the school as part of his job as Head Boy next month.  

It was a Sunday, and he wasn't feeling particularly content.  For one thing, he was tired, and he was loosing energy, after all, getting one meal a day does something to your system.  Hearing his stomach grumble, he placed a hand on it and scolded himself.

Muttering to himself while detaching from the window, "Crouch would have killed you if he knew you weren't eating.  He would say, 'No Auror would be that stupid.  Constant Vigilance!'".  

Draco rolled his eyes and looked at his watch.  It was ten till ten, and he was hungry… maybe if he… no.  _No, I will not go to the Great Hall.  _

Something in the back of his mind suddenly clicked, and he smiled as he thought to himself, _but there is always the kitchen.  _

With that in mind, he threw on his robe and ran a hand through his hair, making his way to the kitchen.

---------- 

Aware of the whispering paintings looking at him as he made his way to the kitchens, he sneered slightly at all of them.  He was aware that students at the school were talking about him; how he wasn't acting the way he was acting last year.  He would have to fix that a bit, but he didn't find pleasure in sneering and scowling at everyone who talked to him.  

Making sure his Head Boy badge was on so none of the teachers could tell him to go back to bed, he turned the corridor that led straight to the kitchen.  

He stopped, though, when he heard something.  With Seeker and Auror like reflexes, he got out his wand at lightning speed, ears perking up when he heard the noise more clearly.  Bracing himself against the hard, stone wall, his eyes darted around the quiet hallway.  

He heard it again… it sounded like… no… no, yes it was… it sounded like it was someone crying.  Exhaling a deep breath and his lips curling down into a small scowl, he put his wand back in his pocket, listening intently to hear where that sound was coming from.  Hearing a sniffle behind a suit of armor, he made his way there, eyes fixing on the dark shadows that surrounded the corner of it.  He could see someone there, and quietly, he said, "Who are you?"

A sniffle and a small sob later was what made him squat down.  He focused his eyes in the dark, and he could see a small girl there, hidden in the shadows.  Smiling slightly, he held out his hand while saying quietly, "Come here, I won't bite."

Slowly, the girl extended her hand and held on to his own.  He briefly noted that it was stained with teardrops, her hand wet as she grasped on to his.  Pulling her gently out of the darkness, his eyes widened as he saw who it was.

"Bogtrottle? What are you doing down here?" he asked her quietly, noting how much she had been crying.  Teardrops stained her black robe, and her eyes were red from her crying.  She shook her head and looked down, embarrassed to have been caught by a boy, the Head Boy no less.

Draco studied her, a small thing of eleven.  _She doesn't look anything like her sister_, he noted.  She was thin, wiry, almost.  With a small sigh, and a rummage through his robe, he held up a handkerchief for her, smiling when she took it.  With a small shrug, and noticing sub-consciously that she didn't let go of his hand, he asked her, "Would you like to accompany me to the kitchens?  We can share some cookies or something."

Softly, after blowing her nose quietly, and wiping her eyes, she whispered, "But you're a Slytherin.  T-They told me not to hang out with Slytherins, and I don't want them to hate me."  She looked like she was going to burst out crying again, and Draco just frowned.  Standing up and pulling her with him (she only came to about his shoulders, maybe even shorter), he asked her, "Who are 'they'?"

She looked down and shuffled her feet.  Only then did she seem to notice that she was holding his hand, and she pulled it back hastily, stuffing it in her robe.  Quietly, she whispered, "My dorm mates."

Raising an eyebrow, and smiling shortly after, he asked, "Would you like to accompany me to the kitchens?" he said softly, squatting down to look her in the eyes, and added "None of them have to know."

She took a moment to think about it, but finally, she nodded.  Taking her hand even though he felt she could walk by herself, Draco led her as they both made their ways to the kitchens. 

---------- 

"These are really good," Melinda said, stuffing her mouth full of chocolate chip cookies, only to drink milk a minute later.  Draco smirked as he chugged that down as well, and he bit into his small ham and cheese sandwich.  

"Yeah, well, they have good help here at Hogwarts," he said quietly, watching as the elves scurried around beside him, bringing them more cookies, and more drinks, accompanied with smiles and big eyes and questions of, 'More, Master? Would the misses like more?'

"So, tell me about 'they' you were talking about earlier," Draco said, watching as Melinda stuffed another huge cookie in her mouth.  She chewed, and swallowed, before she took another large sip of milk, she wiped her mouth.  Looking at Draco thoughtfully, almost as if she were weighing her chances if she trusted him, she said cautiously, "Why?"

He was not that used to students, especially younger ones asking him questions back, but he realized that he was indeed a student now, even if he was a Head Boy.  Feeling he had to get used to it, he rolled his eyes and drawled out, "I'm head boy, and I'm supposed to help out younger years.  Come on, do I look I would tell anyone?" he put on a charming smile after he said that, mockingly winking at her before giving her a look.

She gave him a look back before she reached out and grabbed another cookie.   Nibbling on one side of it, she said quietly, "It's…. just… well.  We were talking about what we would like to be when we grow up, and we were going in a circle…" she trailed off and took a bite of a chocolate chip delight, "and up came my turn.  I said I wanted to be a writer… and… they all looked at me.  I didn't know what I said wrong… and…" she trailed off and Draco leaned in, noticing that the corner of her eyes were becoming wet.  

Quietly, he said, "You didn't say anything wrong.  I assure you," he smiled, then continued, stealing one of her cookies, "It's just you're a witch in a wizarding world.  You say you want to take up a Muggle profession, and of course they will give you a look but there is _nothing_ wrong with it.  I know tons of people who have taken up muggle professions, and they make more money than most wizards."

"But money is not what I'm looking for!" she exclaimed, giving him a look.  She glared at the hand that stole one of her cookies, and watched as he took a bite out of it.  Shrugging, he said, "I never said that.  I'm just saying, well, you know.  Be who you want to be, make the right choices and stuff."

She seemed to watch him as he said this, and quietly, with hesitation, she asked, " What do you want to be… when you get out of H-Hogwarts?"

He couldn't help but smile when she asked this question.  Bowing his head and sipping some of the water before him, he said simply, "I want to be a teacher.  I doubt I'll be one right away… but I want to be one apparently.  Probably take some Auror classes and be an Auror for a few years, then eventually be a teacher."

Her eyes widened with each statement, and she tilted her head.  Perplexed, she said, "You seem to know what you want to be.  What kind of teacher?  A muggle teacher?"

Shaking his head and dusting his hands of the crumbs, shifting in his seat, he said in a quiet voice, "No, in fact, a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher here at Hogwarts.  When Lupin retires, I want to take up his job."

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.  Quickly, tilting his head and looking at her, he asked her, "Do you by chance have a sister?"

Her brows furrowed as she looked at him.  Quizzically, obviously amazed and confused at the same time, she said, "How did you know that?"

Grinning lopsidedly and quickly grabbing a cookie before she could swat his hand away, he bit into it and ran a hand through his hair, "Just wondering.  You're father must have been a wizard, for your mum looked like she was a muggle, yeah?"

She nodded and glared at him once again for stealing one of her precious chocolate chip cookies.  "Yes, he died, though.  I don't remember him that much anyway, but he told my mum that my sister and I would probably be witches, because the magic line was strong or something like that."

Draco nodded and stuffed the cookie into his mouth.  He felt a tapping on his shoulder a minute later, and he swallowed the cookie before he turned around.  He was rewarded with a surprise.

"Dobby?  Oi, I didn't know you worked here at this time!" he said to the smaller elf, and he watched as Dobby's eyes widened before the elf took a step back, and the elf _screamed_.

"Master Malfoy!  He is going to kill Dobby, Master Malfoy is going to kill Dobby!" the elf screamed as he started to rouse the other house elves from their work, but they just gave him a look and went back to it. 

Standing up quickly with wide eyes, Draco ran after the screaming house elf, only to tackle him minutes later.  There was struggling, Melinda screaming something, pots and pans being clinked together, until, finally, Draco breathed heavily and looked down to his prey. 

Dobby was struggling and he couldn't talk, not with Draco's hand over his mouth.  The elf was looking up at him with big eyes, and his feet were flopping like a fish.  Draco sneered slightly, and with his voice controlled, he said, "Dobby.  I am not going to kill you.  I am _not_ going to kill you."

Dobby eventually stopped kicking and squirming, but he was looking up at Draco with disbelieving eyes.  Draco could tell that Melinda was right behind him, obviously terrified, but he continued to look at the elf below him.  With a small sigh, and not removing his hands from the elf's mouth, he said simply, "I'm going to let you up now.  I will not kill you, okay?"

Slowly, then, he rose to a standing position, watching as the elf scrambled away from below him.  Giving the elf a look, he returned to the small table Melinda and him were sharing, and she followed close behind, making sure to stick close to the Head Boy.

Rolling his eyes, and muttering something about 'nuisances', he gave Melinda a small smile before his gaze returned to Dobby.  Dobby was at the corner and watching him with narrowed eyes, something Draco wasn't used too.  He remembered his family lost an elf by the name of Dobby when he was in second year, but that was such a long time ago, he almost forgot.  

"Why did he say you would kill him?" Melinda's eyes were wide and Draco smirked as he took another cookie, not even bothering to make it quick because he knew Melinda wouldn't swap his hand away in her state of amazement.  He answered before taking a bite, "He used to work for my family.  My father always threatened to kill him I guess."

Melinda stared at him before she looked at the glaring house elf across the room, and she leaned in, speaking quietly, "I don't think he likes you."

Draco chuckled at this statement, and smirked.  But in the future…

Looking at his watch and noticing the time, he looked up to see Melinda watching him.  Smiling, he said gently, "You should get back to bed.  McGonagall will kill _me_ if she finds out you've been hanging around with a Slytherin after hour."

She pouted, but she listened as she stood up.  Casting a glance his way, an appreciative glance, she said quietly, "What's your name again?"

He smirked slightly and replied, "Draco Malfoy.  Just call me Malfoy, or, if you want, I give you permission to call me Draco."

She smiled and nodded his way, and she was on her way to the door before she turned back with a quizzical expression on her face.  She shuffled her feet a bit before she said shyly, "Your not that bad as they say." And with a small smile on her face, she left the kitchens, making her ways back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Draco looked towards the pile of cookies in the middle of the small table they were eating from, and he smiled to himself.

---------- 

He still wasn't tired, and he doubted he could sleep with a full stomach.  Making his way to the Astronomy tower, he noted how the candles flickered when he went past them.  He must have gotten his haste to get somewhere from his Auror days, for his legs were starting to hurt from his quickened walking – his seventeen year old body wasn't used to such quick, constant movements *all* the time. 

_At least I can think up there… get some fresh air, _he thought to himself as he made his way up, taking two steps at a time despite the pain that was building in his calves.  He knew, that if he thought about everything in his dorm room, he would be tempted to drink the sleeping draught and not think of anything.

But what he needed was solitude.  Arriving at the door, he opened it gently, and crept inside, smiling as the stars smiled back at him.  Walking to one of the bigger windows that were open, he sat on the ledge of it, propping one leg to his chest while the other remained stationary by his side, and he began to think.

// _Let's talk about love_ was playing in the distance, and Draco cringed at Hermione's taste of music.  Even if the song spoke truth, and brilliance, it wasn't his type of music.  He didn't believe in love.  Love was for idiots.  

Standing in the corner with a goblet of punch in his hand, he sneered when the passing couple – idiots, he thought – made their way to the dance floor.  

"Hey Draco," someone said from behind him, and he turned around to see Harry Potter smile at him.  Draco noted how his boyfriend's hand entwined hesitantly with his own, and his heart fluttered when Harry gave his hand a squeeze.

"Potter," he nodded his way, but didn't detach his hand.  In fact, he squeezed _back_.  

"Would you like to dance?" Harry asked quietly, watching Draco's expression.  Draco's facial expression didn't exchange except for his eyes, the gray silver suddenly a burst of light, but what Harry didn't notice was that it was sparkling the moment Harry held his hand.  

Draco drawled out, "No, dancing is for idiots."

Harry nodded quickly and looked away, looking hurt even though he tried to cover it.  Draco could see from the corner of his eye that Harry started blushing, embarrassed, no doubt for suggesting such a thing, and Draco felt a bit of pity, after all, Harry was just being friendly… in an idiotic way.

"Fine, fine, let's go," Draco drawled out and placed his goblet on the white tablecloth.  Dragging the protesting Harry to the dance floor, he was aware that Ron and Hermione had their glances on him.  

_*Let's talk about love.._.*

Draco and Harry's entwined hand detached themselves, and because Draco was the smaller and sleeker one, he wrapped his hands around Harry's neck.

*From the very first sweet melody to the very last refrain, let's talk about love…let's talk about us… let's talk about love…*

Feeling hot, so incredibly warm beside his boyfriend's presence, he felt Harry's hands find his hipbones, slowly encircling his waist.  He was brought closer to Harry, and pretty soon under the dark sky and the flickering candles, they danced.

*Let's talk about love… Let's talk about love…* Closing his eyes and nuzzling his face into Harry's neck, he felt Harry do the same, nuzzling his own face into Draco's hair, bringing him closer.  Harry had told him millions of times, perhaps billions, that he had loved Draco.  *Let's talk about love….* Breath against necks, entwining souls, one body.  And they danced.  \\ 

And Draco's tears flowed as he remembered, and in the warm security of the night air, he embraced himself, and wept.  

---------- 

Tossing in his bed, Harry blew a strand of hair away from his eyes.  Kicking off the covers of his comfortable bedspread, he lay there, staring up into the ceiling.  He couldn't sleep, and he didn't know why.  Leaning over to one side, he felt outside his curtain for his glasses, rummaging around the tabletop.

Finally, his fingers found his glasses and he sat up straight, his legs dangling on the side of his bed.  Blinking several times as he put on his glasses, he peeked around the dorm room and was thankful all of his friends were sleeping.  

He walked quietly to his trunk and squatted in front of it, hands grazing the ancient looking handle and wood furnishings.  Slowly, he opened it, breathing in the familiar fragrance of the wood, and he kneeled in front of it, searching for something.  Something precious.

Finding what he needed, he pulled the silvery cloak out, the silver gleaming from the moonlight streaming through the windows of the dormitories.  It shone, it sparkled, and it glowed with warmth.  Harry, taking a moment in time to feel the cloak, wondered what he would do without it.  

Smiling slightly to himself and making sure no one else was awake, he put the cloak on, fastening the clasp so it would stay on.  It spread over his shoulders and his body magnificently, making him invisible, invulnerable to the public's eye.  Reaching into the trunk again, he pulled out another precious item, the Marauders map.  

Obtaining this in his hand, he stood upright, and closed his trunk.  

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Harry whispered in the confides of his cloak, whispering to the piece of spread out parchment in his hand.  The map did it's magic, and pretty soon; the whole of Hogwarts was laid out before Harry's eyes, on the parchment in Harry's palm.  

In his cloak, Harry walked to the door and opened it quietly, before shutting it behind him.  Still not looking at the map, he crept down the dormitory stairs to the circular common room, and there, he made his way to the portrait.  Making sure that no one else was there or hidden in the shadows, he smiled to himself and went through the portrait, waking a sleeping fat lady.  She looked around sleepily and mumbled something Harry didn't quite care for, and he was on his way.  

Upon taking five steps from the portrait he finally looked at the map, and his eyes scanned the map for any signs of Mrs. Norris or Filch. Seeing that they were by the Hufflepuff dormitories, he sighed in relief, and then –

His eyes caught something.  A name, a single, solitary figure still in the Astronomy tower.  Harry's brows furrowed as the single dot didn't move, and before he knew it, he was on his way to the Astronomy tower.

---------- 

Harry's pace grew faster each time he glanced at the map.  Malfoy was not moving.  In fact, he didn't move for a whole ten minutes.  _What the hell is Malfoy doing in the Astronomy tower?! _Harry asked himself as he made his way there, finally reaching the steps that led up.  Taking two steps at a time up the stairs, he could feel his heart beating through his ears; he could hear the silence that surrounded the vicinity of where he was, and his eyes – he could only see darkness before him.

Breathing heavily as he reached the last step, he made his way to the door marking the entrance to the Astronomy Tower.  Pressing his ear against the door, the only thing he was rewarded with was silence.  His heart dropped, and he wondered why, and for a second, he knew he was _worried_.

Hearing nothing, he gently opened the door, and as quietly as he could, he slipped in.  Looking around in the darkness, his eyes caught the moonbeams on the floor, the window obviously have been opened.  Putting the marauder's map in his pocket, he walked closer, and saw a shadow move on the floor, stopping his steps.  

Cautiously, he rounded the corner, and his brow furrowed as he saw what awaited him.  Huddled in a small corner in the room with his legs up to his chest, a boy of seventeen sat on a window ledge, looking up into the stars.  Harry came closer inaudibly, eyes widening with each second that passed on the eternal clock, completely and entirely amazed to see what he was seeing.  

Before him was a creature with figure molded like a puppet, wanting to be set free.  Harry watched, silent, as teardrop after teardrop ran down the face of the blond, staining his pale cheeks with humiliating, but powerful marks of sadness, and Harry watched, silent, as the blond boy didn't even wipe them away.  Instead, he continued to look out in the night, both legs against his chest, and Harry could see that Draco Malfoy shivered when Harry took another step, incidentally clutching his robe closer to his small, lithe frame.

Harry opened his mouth to ask a question, but he stopped, as the question didn't form on his tongue.  What would he say?  What would he do?  

Instead, Harry shook his head and took a step backwards, and another, until, finally, he could watch the blond boy at a distance, but even then, even at that distance, it still felt wrong to watch Draco Malfoy in this private moment.  

Doing what he thought best, he took another step back, and then another, until; finally, he was pressed against the wooden door of the Astronomy tower.  Biting his lip, he did the only smart thing that came to his mind, and that was the attempt of sleep back in his bed.

----------

// When the night was done, and the dancing was finished, Harry took Draco by the hand and brought him to their flat, where once they stepped in, the hasty attempt to discard clothes was needed.  

_Touch me_ _Now More I need—I need you Now Please My love, I need you._

"Draco," was a pleasurable moan, and minutes, maybe hours later, it was a content whisper.  Draco smiled against Harry's neck, and pulled him closer, making Harry spoon against him, kissing the beautiful curls on the nape of Harry's neck.  

"Mmm, Harry?" Draco would smirk slightly and entwine their legs without hesitation, and he waited for Harry's small whimper.  He was rewarded; he was always rewarded when he tangled their legs together – with a whimper deep from Harry's throat.  

"I don't know what I would do without you," Harry whispered, and Draco would only kiss the back of Harry's neck amidst their quiet breathing and steady hearts.  

"Draco?" Harry whispered again, but this time, Draco heard – there was pleading, hope, almost.  Blinking once or twice, he nuzzled the back of Harry's neck, kissing up the smooth, unscarred shoulder blade of the boy-who-lived.  Resting his chin between Harry's shoulder, and part of his face resting on the side of Harry's face, he inhaled the beautiful scent of rain.

"Draco?" Harry whispered when Draco didn't reply.  Feeling his lover tense under him, he pulled Harry closer to his naked body, feeling the heat and eternal warmness.  He could feel Harry shift slightly, and he pulled his arm back so Harry could turn to face him, and when Harry was facing him, he kissed the brunette's forehead, entwining their legs again.  

"Mm?" Draco asked quietly, closing his eyes as he kissed Harry's eyelids closed.  He could feel Harry's heartbeat speed up quickly, and he heard Harry gasp beside him, but he pulled Harry closer, loving and _needing_ the warmness so close to him, so close to his heart.

"_I love you_," Harry whispered into Draco's neck, and Draco placed his hand on the small of Harry's back, tracing the small grace of hair on Harry's backside, circling it with his fingers.  Glancing down, he realized that Harry had fallen asleep in his arms, and once he realized that, he also realized another small miracle.

He was falling in love.  He was falling in love with Harry Potter. \\

Draco smiled in the present time and pulled his legs closer to his chest.  He shivered, for a moment, and he pulled his robe closer over his frame, taking comfort in it.  Continuing to gaze out into the grounds outside the window, he wiped his eyes, finally, and shifted in his place.  

Smiling to himself slightly, he never remembered feeling quite this… content thinking about the past with him and Harry together.  Usually, he couldn't even think of any, for it brought tears to his eyes, and an eternal dreading to his soul.

_Maybe…_he thought, _maybe this adventure isn't so bad._

And with that thought in mind, he sat up and walked back to his quarters, smiling secretly to himself.

---------- 

Hermione stared at her Defense Against the Dark Art's paper and she frowned once she realized what the marks were.  Mumbling to herself, she stood up and walked over to the Professor, the only student in the class to do so.  

Harry and Ron stared at their own paper and grins appeared on their faces.  Leaning in, Ron pointed to his paper and whispered with a grin, "Oi, I passed!  No help from Hermione at all!"

Harry smiled at him and looked at his own parchment.  A 89 wasn't bad, considering what Ron got.  He had noticed that Hermione had gotten a 98 on her parchment, but he only rolled his eyes.

"What do you think that git got?  Look at him, he's stuffing that parchment in his bag!" Ron smirked quietly and looked at his parchment with the red mark on it.  

Harry looked up to see what Ron was pointing at earlier, and he put his paper down once he realized Ron was talking about Draco Malfoy.  He watched intently as Draco stuffed his paper into his bag before closing it with an audible snap across the room.

Harry began to notice Malfoy, slowly, and when no one else was looking.  Once in a while, if he stared long enough, Draco would look up, glance at him for a fraction of a second, and then look back to what he was working on.  And Harry noticed, whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not, every time he looked at Draco, in his eyes, Draco would always seem so… beautifully sad.

He watched, with narrowed eyes, eyes that were ready to look at someone or something else if they were accused to be looking at Draco, he watched as Draco's eyes moved to the front, watching Professor Lupin.

Hermione eventually came back when Harry was watching Malfoy, because she nudged his side.  Almost jumping a foot in the air, he glared at her slightly as she continued to stare at her paper.  

"I got a 98.  A _98_," she said simply with a frown upon her features.  Giving the paper a disapproving look, she stuffed it in the bag angrily before she closed it with a snap, and Harry just shook his head and smiled.  Turning towards the Professor once again, he briefly noticed that Malfoy was looking at him with a hooded gaze, and when Harry turned to look back at the blond, the gaze was gone.  

"I am really impressed by your parchments," Lupin said quietly, shuffling some papers on his desk, and Hermione made a small sound of disbelief beside Harry.  Harry couldn't help but smirk slightly at Hermione's stubbornness, but the class quieted down to hear what the Professor was about to say.

"There is going to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts Extra Curriculum Lesson within a few weeks on Auror Training," Harry noted Draco sat up upon that and frowned absently, hearing the Professor even if he wasn't looking at him, "For those who would like to sigh up for it, I will post something for you guys to sign up on in two weeks.  Only fifteen positions are open, and first come first serve."

Harry heard some soft laughter across the room, and he frowned as he saw Blaise Zabini nudge Crabbe and Goyle in the sides.  Angrily watching them, he was dully aware that his hands were clenching into fists, and his eyes narrowed the longer he watched them laugh.

"Is something funny, Mr. Zabini?" Lupin's eyes narrowed slightly, and Harry was amazed that he had managed to keep a smile on his face.  A forced one, but a smile all the same.  

"No, nothing is funny in your class, Professor," Blaise smirked and leaned back in his chair, and Harry clearly noticed the insolence in his voice.  He could feel the heat and anger of the redheaded boy beside him, but Harry just put a hand on Ron's arm, trying to tell him through physical gestures to keep calm.

Professor Lupin's eyes narrowed, he continued, "Remember, first come, first serve.  This isn't an extra credit opportunity, but if you are looking into the position of an Auror, this is good training," Lupin glanced at the time before he glanced at the rest of the class, "Class dismissed."

Harry and the rest of his years gave a grateful sign before they stood up and piled out of the doors with their bags.  Harry made his way to the front first, smiling, and Professor Lupin smiled back, beckoning him over.

"Have you heard from Snuffles?" Harry muttered quietly, leaning in.  Professor Lupin looked up to see the last remaining student leave the room before he nodded in Harry's direction, handing him a small parchment.  

Harry read,

"Dear Harry,

You know the drill, I can't send this by the same owl and I can't sign my name or anything, but you already knew that.  Things are okay, still living off of rats, be thankful that you have the castle there with proper food.  Anyway, have entrusted this note to Moony, been a good kid and stay out of trouble.

-Snuffles."

Harry smiled to himself and handed Professor Lupin back the parchment.  Giving him a small smile, a wave of goodbye, he walked quietly out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom only to be met with an excited Ron and Hermione.

"Wha-? What happened?" Harry barely noticed the amount of excitement that buzzed around the corridor, and he was pulled to the side as Crabbe and Goyle were up ahead, pushing people out of their way with Blaise Zabini on their tail, looking like he was cradling his arm.

"You should have seen it, Harry, it was spectacular!" Ron exclaimed and Hermione glared at him for a second before she bossily said, "He will obviously be put on probation.  He's Head Boy and he knew he wasn't supposed to do that."

"Hermione!  Are you bloody joking?!" Ron gawked at her as she shrugged, and she took a look at Harry's confused face.

"Well, what happened was—," but she was cut off by Ron's excited voice.

"Oh Harry, it was amazing!  I didn't know the ferret boy knew such magic, and to use it to his own housemate!  Amazing!" Ron was quickly nudged by Hermione to be quiet and Harry glared as the noise around him got louder, obviously everyone had seen what happened and he hadn't.

"What happened?" he asked quietly, and Hermione's expression suddenly turned solemn.  Ron must have noticed also, because he stopped bouncing in his place and looked at her weirdly.  Quietly, she started to speak when she was sure Ron wouldn't interrupt, "Well, when we came out here, I heard Zabini talking about those Auror Lessons, and--,"

"—And Malfoy went BLAM!" Ron interrupted but recoiled when Hermione gave him a venomous look.

"No, it didn't happen like that.  Blaise was talking about how Auror Lessons were a big joke, and all of a sudden Malfoy turned around on him.  He said really loudly, enough for everyone to stop and stare that being an Auror was a privilege.  Blaise retorted with a sneer and … I don't know, it was quite inaudible what he said, but then, all of a sudden Malfoy took out his wand, pointed it at Blaise, and spoke of a hex I have never heard of.  Then, he said," she paused and let Ron take over, since he was bouncing in his place to tell Harry of the rest of the events.

"And Malfoy said," he put his best imitation of Draco's voice which ended up being a low drawl, "'_That_ is what you learn in Auror training.'" Ron paused for emphasis then his grinned widely, "You should have been there, Harry!  Zabini flew about ten feet or so!"

Harry's eyes widened with each word that was said from both of his best friend's lips.  Quickly looking around to see if Malfoy was around so he could see the big idol of the day according to everyone's standards, he was disappointed to see that Malfoy wasn't around.  In fact, he was nowhere to be seen.

Almost as if sensing his disappointment, Ron said quietly, "Maybe we'll see him tomorrow," then, he added gleefully, "Maybe he'll be put on probation! Or better yet, expelled!"

Harry smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.  Watching as the hallway quieted down, he made his way to the Great Hall for dinner with Hermione and Ron by his side.

---------- 

_I hexed a student, Shite, Shite, Shite, _Draco said to himself and made his way quickly to Professor Dumbledore's office.  Bumping several students by the shoulder, he didn't take notice of anything else but the gargoyle he could see straight ahead of him.  He slowed down to make sure no one was in the same corridor as him so no one could see him enter the Headmaster's office.   

Approaching the gargoyle, he muttered the password and walked up the stairs to the Headmaster's office.  Walking up the stairs, he didn't know how he would explain himself; _should I tell him the truth?  Why I did it?  Shite.  _

When he finally reached the top, he called out quietly, "Albus?"

"Over here, dear boy.  Just watching Fawkes," a voice said further into the room, and Draco walked over to Dumbledore, his heart beating nervously in his chest.  Thankful that he didn't curse Blaise, his heart rate shimmered down some, but it was still beating furiously.  

"Headmaster?" Draco asked him properly, seeing as he was at fault.  He came close to the backside of the old man and stood beside him for a second, looking at the floor.  He could already tell that the Headmaster knew what happened, because his stand was abnormally tense.

"Professor," Dumbledore started out, and Draco blinked at his title.  He watched as Dumbledore paused and took a deep breath, not before petting the red bird in front of him, "Would you care to tell me from your own mouth what happened today?"

Draco blinked several times at this question… maybe Dumbledore didn't know.  _But he knows everything… ah, he does know…_ Sighing, he looked at his feet in guilt after Albus gave him a look.  Quietly, he said, "I hexed a student, Headmaster.  It is my fault entirely, I should have controlled my emotions."

Dumbledore continued petting Fawkes, and in a grave voice, he said, "I understand Draco.  I don't know what happens in the future," he turned to look at him, both hands behind him, " but surely, you cannot blame something for not happening just yet."

Draco nodded and continued to look at the floor guiltily, but he looked up when a hand was placed on his shoulder.  Dumbledore smiled gently at him, and gestured him to a chair a few feet from their location, and Draco turned around and sat down on the opposite end that Dumbledore was sitting.  

Sighing, he put his head in his hands and spoke through them, "Yes, I know.  I just… I just couldn't help it," he looked up sadly, "Just… knowing what Blaise does in the future upsets me, really.  Do you… think I can change it, Albus?"

Dumbledore studied him for a moment before he leaned forward in his chair, his blue eyes sparkling with integrity, "Change time, Draco?"  Draco nodded, and Dumbledore continued with a grave voice, "Unfortunately, we cannot change time."

Draco nodded, he expected this anyway.  Looking at the headmaster, he asked quietly, "I had a feeling.  I just… don't understand some time rules, that's all.  Or the principles."

Dumbledore nodded and spoke quietly, "Listen closely Draco.  Time is a repeating pattern, it repeats itself, really.  It's continuous, it never ends.  But because of our desire to change time for our own use, they have a rule about time turners," the old man saw Draco nod his head, and he paused for emphasis, "But in your case, it's a bit different."

The blond student tilted his head curiously and he waited for Dumbledore to continue, which the old man did, "By some rule of magic and from some sympathy of time, you were allowed to travel backwards.  Your fate, whatever happens in the future-,"

"- Starts here," Draco whispered.  Furrowing his brow, he asked, "I… I kind of understand.    So, everything there I remember what happens… when… I'm twenty; it is all because of that I do _here_? In this time?"

Dumbledore nodded and Draco saw blue sparkles in Dumbledore's eyes.  The old man said quietly, a small smile, "To everyone else time flows as we usually imagine it – forward; a continuous step, an everyday thing, a pattern.  They go second by second, minute by minute, day by day.  But, you my boy, you are given a special privilege.  Everything that you do here, affects your life afterwards… and you are able to do that with already knowing what happens in the future.  So, you are safe, whatever you do, because it continuously happens again and again…" Dumbledore trailed off and leaned back, the sparkle in his eye sparkling magnificently bluer. 

Draco's smile slowly started to grow throughout Dumbledore's speech, and he nodded when Dumbledore was finished.  But he was struck with a horrible thought, "Wait, wait, if you say that everything I do here affects what happens later…" he trailed off and his heart started beating furiously, "So, what I did today is what starts Zabini on his death eater streak when we get out of school?"

Dumbledore shook his head quickly and softly, "No.  Whatever happens with Mr. Zabini is his decision, like everything around you is your decision.  Besides," he spoke even quieter, and he smiled, "You aren't here for Mr. Zabini, are you, Draco?  This is not why you are here."

Draco's heartbeat decreased with the comfort of knowing that, and he nodded.  Blowing a small, stray strand of hair away from his forehead and then exhaling a relieved breath, he gave Dumbledore a small, pleased smile.  

"But, Draco, because of what happened today…" he trailed off and Draco could feel his heart getting ready to jump to his stomach, "You do realize you can't go unpunished.  Students will wonder if you have me possessed, and Minerva will 'talk' with me about you if you don't have any penalty," he stopped and Draco chuckled to himself.  How Draco knew what McGonagall would do, and he grinned when Dumbledore continued with a smile of his own, "You do understand I will probably have to take your wand, yes?"

Draco watched as Dumbledore's eyes twinkled it's brightest, and he spoke in a low voice for only him and Dumbledore to hear, "You do know as a full pledged Auror, I can do wand-less magic… right Albus?"

Dumbledore chuckled slightly, and he leaned closer.  Giving Draco a small wink, he whispered with amusement in his voice, "Let's keep that a secret between you and me."

Draco shook his head while smiling and handed his wand over to the Headmaster.  Glad that that was his only punishment, he quietly asked, "What do I do if I need a wand to perform a spell in front of the class?  They… will wonder if I do wand-less magic, Albus," he had a small warning, almost, in his voice and Dumbledore just shook his head.

"The Professors will be informed about your absence of a wand," Dumbledore smiled slightly.  Nodding, Draco stood up while smiling and extended his hand, which Dumbledore took.  

"You shall get your wand in two weeks time, Draco.  Also, I have something for you," Dumbledore stood up and searched through his drawer, and when he handed Draco a piece of parchment, he said quietly, "Open it when you are outside.  It will be useful for you if you ever feel in need of something to do."

Draco's brows furrowed but he took the parchment Dumbledore was offering.  Holding it in his hand and obeying his mentor's wishes, he gave Dumbledore a small smile of goodbye before he actually left, and upon arriving outside the Headmaster's quarters he finally opened the parchment.

It said:

I give Mr. Draco Malfoy permission to access the Restricted Section of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's library for as long as he sees fit.  

Thankyou, 

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster.

And Draco gawked as the tidy scrawl of the headmaster glistened in the firelight, and then he smiled, and made his way to his quarters, later to stop by in the kitchens.

-----**TBC**-----

_

* * *

_

Lets talk about love - it's all were needin'  
Lets talk about us - it's the air we're breathin'  
Lets talk about life - I wanna know you  
Lets talk about trust - and I wanna show you  
Lets talk about love

_

* * *

_

**Next Chapter:** Observations are being made, and sometimes hope it all you need.  

**Notes**: Encouragement appreciated.  All the songs come from Celine Dion, 'Let's talk about love', 'It's all coming back to me now', and one song from Moulin Rouge, 'Come what may'.

Thank you again to my beta.  I don't know what I would do without her.  Lullaby of a Dragon coming soon.  Please have patience.


	5. Origin of Power

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to JK Rowling and not to me, sadly enough.

**Notes**: I am having too much fun writing this.  Much thanks to Ruka and Dilly for help on his chapter.

**Rating**: R.

* * *

**A Soul Mate's Story******

**Chapter Five: Origin of Power**

* * *

_Have you ever been in love   
You could touch the moonlight   
When your heart is shooting stars   
You're holding heaven in your arms_

_Have you ever been in love?_

* * *

Draco Malfoy slowly hung his robe on the back of a chair before returning to the restricted section of the library. He glanced over his shoulder before slipping between the doors, making sure to be as quiet as possible. 

The blond Slytherin passed several books, absently noting the differences in each one. He passed a book that was stained heavily with blood, and he cringed at the thought of all the possibilities of how it could have got that way. He decided to start from the back of the restricted section first, only because the less accessible part of the library didn't have what he wanted in alphabetical order. As Draco passed several shelves full of books, he tapped his forefinger against those that looked dull, and small, and uninteresting, and whispering an incantation, he made them remove themselves from the dusty bookshelves and float behind him. 

Performing wand-less magic was easy for Draco – only because he had experience with such magic and the blond actually _knew_ how to control it -- but he did miss having his wand: wand-less magic drained his powers. Watching as the books he tapped pulled themselves out from the dusty shelves, he turned and made his way back outside the restricted section to where he hung his robe, five books following behind him in midair. 

Sighing, he sat down in the chair, watching as the books floated before him. Then, pointing to the table, the books followed his lead, landing where he pointed. He was glad the library was empty at this time of night, everyone else being at dinner.

This being the first time he had entered the library in so many months was uncanny, because he felt so in place the moment he stepped into it. _Must be the quiet_, Draco thought to himself as he opened a rather large book, coughing when dust particles flew in his face.

Sighing again, he didn't even know where to start. This was only the first week without his wand, yet he was still excelling in his studies. His stomach grumbled, and he wondered if eating one meal a day was actually really unhealthy. But… he couldn't go into the Great Hall. He couldn't, for if he did… 

He remembered last night, when he was forced to by Pansy.

// "Draco, come on, I know you love to complain about the food here but honestly, you never eat!" Pansy exclaimed to him, giving him a look. 

Draco gave her a wry smile in return, not particularly feeling hungry even though he didn't eat all day. He didn't dare glance up, because if he did, he would be staring at Harry again. Just to please her, he sought out his fork and. making sure she was looking at him, he stuck the utensil in a small piece of cut chicken. Unhurriedly, he brought it to his lips, pleasantly savouring the flavour that was against his tongue. 

His wry smile widened, and Pansy rolled her eyes, satisfied, and returned to her own meal. He was determinedly avoiding Blaise Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle, sitting tables away from them. They seemed deep in conversation about who knows what, Draco thought consciously, and he was glad that he was sitting with someone. 

"D-Draco?" someone asked quietly, and Draco looked up to see Melinda Bogtrottle standing behind him. Murmurs went about the Slytherin table, and the loud talking from the other end quieted down, all eyes on the small Gryffindor student. She wrung her hands nervously, looking about the table, and then her gaze landed on Draco Malfoy, and she smiled hesitantly.

"Good evening," he started, and looked across the hall, only to have more eyes turn towards them. He could see some of the smaller first year Gryffindor girls looking towards them, perplexed beyond belief, and then, he could see some of the other Gryffindor pupils look towards them, watching what he would do.

"I-I was wondering, could I sit here? Please?" she said, nervously, as quietly as she could, shifting in her place. Draco blinked at her several times, watching as she continued to wring her hands. He looked across the hall once again, seeing that now the other tables were gazing at them. They dropped their eyes or looked away when his brows furrowed, but the Gryffindor first year girls continued staring.

Not wanting to embarrass her, he scooted over, offering her the empty space beside him. He could hear her exhale quietly, and he watched along with plenty of others as she sat down beside him, not exactly touching him, but close enough for him to feel her body heat. Sharing a curious look with Pansy, he looked back at Melinda, and she was looking across the room triumphantly at her other classmates. 

"What's this about then?" he asked her quietly, taking another bite of chicken. She blinked at him for a second before her gaze dropped to her hands in her lap. He looked across the hall again and absently noticed the small amount of buzzing from each of the tables, particularly from the Gryffindor first year girls.

She looked up sadly, and leaned in, whispering, "Them."

Sighing, he leaned closer to her, not caring if everyone else was seemingly not watching, "What about them? Do you want me to talk to them about it?"

She shook her head quickly and her eyes widened. Hastily, "No, no, not that. They… they didn't believe that I was in the kitchens the other day with you. They thought I was lying."

Sighing, he stole a look over at Pansy. She was sneering slightly, obviously disapproving that a Gryffindor girl was sitting at their table, and Draco rolled his eyes at her nature. Smiling softly, his teacher instincts kicking in, he said gently, "Do you want something to eat?" He paused and looked around the table for something the smaller girl would like, but he just ended up looking back at her.

She nodded hesitantly, and he gave her a small smile. Quietly, "Just get whatever you want. I'm sure none of the others would mind." With that, he glared around the table at whoever might be listening to their conversation. 

Turning back to Pansy once he figured Melinda could help herself, he was greeted with an amazed look. Blushing slightly, he drawled out while looking at his plate, "What?"

"It's… just that… you've changed." Her brows furrowed and she ran a hand through her brown hair, twirling it around in her finger. Her blue eyes sparkled, and Draco just shrugged.

He turned his head quickly when Melinda tapped him on the arm. He leaned in when she did, and she whispered, "Harry Potter is staring at you again."

Surprise and a mixture of emotion hit him like a wave, and before he had time to think, he looked up into the green eyes of Harry Potter. 

He could feel his heartbeat quickening, and he parted his dry lips. Without noticing what he was doing, his tongue slipped out and moistened his mouth before it slid back in gently. He could feel his body freeze with each second he continued to look into Harry's eyes. 

_His lover, his soul mate_. 

Standing up abruptly, and nearly knocking over his and Melinda's goblets of pumpkin juice, he felt the heat rising within his body as he tried to scramble out of there. He could feel himself react physically, for he started to tremble with all the held up emotion. Whispering close in Pansy's ear, he said quickly, "Take care of Melinda, talk to her."

And he left with a dozen pairs of eyes on him, one belonging to Harry Potter. \\

Sighing, he looked at the clock that was hanging above Madam Pince. Glad that he had decided to skip dinner tonight, he returned his eyes to the books, sighing to himself as he wondered how in the world he would get through this year.

----------

Harry Potter signed his name on the roster for Auror applicants after checking who was on the list. So far, it had several Hufflepuffs, several Ravenclaws, no Slytherins, and several Gryffindors. He had seen that Ron and Hermione had been the first to sign the list, and he was the fourteenth, the second to the last available space open. 

It had already been two weeks from when Professor Lupin had announced what the Ministry was offering, and Harry didn't know why it had taken him that long to put his name on the list. He grinned as he made his way in the classroom (the roster was on the door) right before the class started, and he looked up attentively at Professor Lupin, who was shuffling papers on his desk.

He didn't even notice that Malfoy was absent, which was very unlike the blond, since he was usually there before class started. Professor Lupin smiled at all of them and cleared his throat before saying quietly, "I do hope some of you put your name on the roster. It would be an advantage to you, I think."

On the other side of the room, the Slytherin side, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle snickered quietly, and Ron, sitting beside Harry, shot them a murderous glare. Professor Lupin seemed not to notice, though his brows furrowed as he made his way to the door to take down the sheet.

Harry then looked towards Pansy on the other side of the room, writing something on a parchment. Only then did he notice that Draco was not there. Brows furrowing, his attention turned to the doors when he heard Professor Lupin return, the roster with the clipboard in his hand.

His eyes followed Professor Lupin quietly while some of the students were talking in low voices behind him, but his gaze was averted when he heard the doors open again, and the sound of huffing and puffing filled his ears. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched as Draco Malfoy – although he was trying desperately to slow his heavy breathing, it was obvious that he had run all the way to class – tried to slip into class. He stopped, Harry noticed, when his eyes caught the Auror clipboard. 

"Do you have an excuse, Mr. Malfoy, for being tardy?" Professor Lupin asked quietly, any emotion resulting from this student hidden from his face. Harry watched with dislike as Draco looked like he would come up with a bull-cock excuse, only he didn't.

"No sir, just… woke up late," Draco finished lamely and walked to his seat, some of his blond hair falling over his eyes as his head was bowed. Professor Lupin blinked, and it was evident that he was not the only one surprised, for Ron and Hermione were staring at him with open mouths. 

"I see then," Lupin paused and watched Draco before continuing. "Then, twenty points from Slytherin for tardiness, Mr. Malfoy."

Harry watched, amazed, as Draco took his punishment. On the other side of the room, Draco's face flushed with embarrassment, but the only evidence that he was humiliated was the slight pink tinge on his cheekbones. 

The blond saw the roster in Professor Lupin's hand, and quickly, before Lupin turned to send it off to the ministry, Draco said quietly, "Sir, wait. Is there still a space open for the Auror position?"

Draco could hear the whispers going on the room, and cursed himself for not waking up earlier so he could be discreet about it. He watched as Professor Lupin tried to hide his surprise, but eventually, he replied, "Yes, Mr. Malfoy." Lupin looked down at the roster and smiled uncertainly at him before he handed it over. "Actually, just one left, right after Mr. Potter."

Draco turned his head to look at the bewildered Harry Potter. He turned just as quickly though, and dropped his gaze, and with his quill and everyone in the room watching, including Crabbe, Zabini and Goyle, Draco Malfoy signed his name on the Auror roster. 

It had been two weeks since the incident with Blaise, and Draco Malfoy let his hand trail down to his side to make sure his wand was secured in his pocket. The thirty-three-year-old man in a seventeen-year-old body had received his wand from Dumbledore just last night, and everyone in Hogwarts had heard about him being wandless. He was glad that Professor Dumbledore didn't say a word about wandless magic to anyone, and he was also glad that the old man had told every teacher not to give him anything that required a wand; seemingly ignoring the fact that the younger wizard could indeed use wandless magic. 

Professor Lupin took back the roster when Draco was finished and tied it to an owl's leg, addressing it to the Ministry. He cleared his throat when he was done and surveyed the class. In his hand, he held a parchment, which looked official. Silencing everyone with a look, he read the top, and Draco smiled as he remembered the familiar words.

"We, at the Ministry, thank everyone who had signed the Auror Training sheet given to you by your Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher. We hope to get in contact with you soon, during the upcoming week, and shall discuss with you the importance of being an Auror. Not only that, we hope to train a set of fine individuals, set to defend against the dark forces that reign our World." Professor Lupin read quietly to the silent class, "An Auror shall arrive next week to take the names of those who signed up, train them properly for the final stage and test of being an Auror, and that shall be their Defence Against the Dark Arts class for the remainder of the year."

Harry saw the blond Slytherin nod out of the corner of his eye, and his brows furrowed slightly as he continued to watch him. He had never noticed that Draco had such a smooth face before.

Remus put down the parchment and smiled to the class, but that's not what brought Harry out of his intent thoughts. Draco turned slightly, and his gaze caught a hold of Harry's a second later, and Harry was expecting him to turn away as he always did, but, instead, the Slytherin's lips were curled upward in the smallest smile.

----------

Licking his dry lips and looking at the field from a distance, Draco courageously made his way to the Quidditch field with his broom in his right hand. It was dinnertime on an early Thursday night in October but, not feeling particularly hungry, he had decided to spend his evening getting reacquainted with Quidditch. 

His grip on his broom handle tightened with each step he took, but his determination got a hold of him and with that in his mind, he took small breaths as he made his way to the centre of the field, his vine grip on his broom evident.

Once he approached the centre, he mounted his broom, but didn't kick off right away. He looked up at the October sky and shivered slightly for an unknown reason – there wasn't any breeze whatsoever, and the temperature was nice outside – and he swallowed as he thought to himself over and over again, _It's just flying. You remember how to fly, don't you?_

_Of course_, he answered his own question, and took another deep breath before he pushed off the ground just gently with his feet. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt himself hovering four feet off the ground. He bent down and cradled the broom close to his chest in fear of falling and his eyes remained shut as a sudden flashback entered his mind.

// "Come on Draco, it's not that bad," Harry said softly, but Draco glared at him and shook his head when Harry offered to play Quidditch. It was a beautiful day in November, the breeze just lightly kicking in while the trees in the background shed its multicoloured leaves, marking the ground with its tears. 

"I told you, Potter, I don't play Quidditch anymore." Draco's voice didn't waver as he continued to give Harry an icy glare, and Harry looked away, the eagerness in his eyes fading quickly.

Draco didn't know when this intense fear of flying had begun. All that he had done during his Hogwarts years had vanished into smoke; all he had known was that he had this horrible accident at school before he graduated, and every time he approached a Quidditch field with flying in mind… fear just rose up quickly in his body.

He felt a hand brush against his own and that's what made him look up. Staring into beautiful green eyes, he noticed that there was the intense trusting force deep within; he didn't break the gaze as Harry entwined their fingers hesitantly. 

"It's not that bad," Harry said quietly again, and Draco looked away from him to look at the deserted Quidditch field. They had taken a day off from their Auror duties, and Draco sighed to himself before he gave Harry a look.

Harry's other hand slowly let the broomsticks fall to the ground, and before Draco could wonder what he was going to do, Harry's hand circled his waist and the brunette kissed his neck, making Draco close his eyes as Harry held him.

"But if you don' t want, we can do something you want to do. I just thought … since you loved flying so much…" Harry trailed off and his chin rested on Draco's shoulder. The blond could hear the suppressed sadness in Harry's voice, and he sneered slightly to himself when he felt himself giving in. 

"I'll tell you what, Potter," he drawled out, and his other free hand drew lazy circles on the back of Harry's hand that was circled around his waist, "I… I'll _try_."

He felt a kiss against his neck and he smiled to himself uncontrollably. Harry made him do that nowadays for no particular reason, or a reason he didn't want to admit. Harry held him for a moment longer; swaying slightly just like the wind was swaying the leaves, and he could feel Harry's breath against his neck just like the wind's breath against the trees.

Draco felt Harry's hand snake back and he opened his eyes to see Harry making his way to the centre of the field, two broomsticks in his hands, but he turned to Draco with a small smile and an outstretched hand.

Draco breathed in deep and took his boyfriend's hand and made his way to the centre of the field, now feeling uncertain. Almost as if Harry could feel his uncertainty or his worry, he squeezed his hand and threw a smile over his shoulder, winking at the blond. Draco forced a small smile, and when they arrived in the middle of the field, his grip on Harry's hand was very tight indeed.

Harry handed him a broom and put the other on the ground. Draco swallowed slightly and felt his throat grow dry with the familiar fear that was slowly creeping up his body. But slowly, with Harry's touch and smile, he licked his lips and very slowly, mounted the broom. The fear was overwhelming, and he looked at Harry for support on what he should do next even if he knew what to do. 

He felt his boyfriend's arm wrap around his waist, and he watched from over his shoulder as the brunette mounted the broom as well, and his eyes widened when he realised what Harry was doing.

"Your--," he started out saying, but Harry smiled and kissed the shell of his ear, and they were securely in place. Harry kicked them both off the ground until they were hovering ten feet in the air, and Harry's hands were on top of Draco's on the broom handle, the front of his body pressed against Draco's back, and he smiled as he whispered in Draco's ear, "I'm here. I'll always be here." //

He opened his eyes widely when he saw that he was five feet off the ground. He dearly wished Harry were with him now, but he knew he had to get reacquainted with Quidditch for the upcoming matches. Closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath, he pulled the broom handle skyward, feeling the broom listen to his command and take him several feet higher. 

The next time he opened his eyes again, he was staring at the ground from twenty feet in the air. His heart thumped madly in his chest, but… he was smiling. _I'm doing it! I'm… I'm flying again. Oh, Harry, you would be so proud,_ he told himself and slowly, he swerved the broomstick to the left, and the fear in his heart evaporated as he slowly rose higher.

And amidst the gentle blowing wind and the falling leaves, Harry Potter, who stood behind a tree mostly in the shadows, watched Draco Malfoy fly. 

----------

Grumpily, Draco made his way to the first class of the day on an early Tuesday morning. With a sigh after looking at his watch, he ignored the small murmurs as he made his way to his seat in front of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. 

He looked up, though, when he heard a voice that sounded so _familiar_. Furrowing his eyebrows and looking around the room, his eyes caught hold of a dark robe before his eyes travelled upwards to gaze into the fake eyeball of Mad-Eye Moody.

He felt his heart drop.

Mad-Eye Moody was talking and walking at the same time with Professor Lupin, his hands in front of his body and moving hastily. Draco didn't manage to catch what they were saying, but his eyes were riveted to his future mentor's face, and he could feel his insides rumble with uncertainty.

"Class, quiet down." Remus smiled at all of them. Draco barely noticed the voices other than Lupin's, but he looked down quickly when Mad-Eye Moody's gaze caught his own. It felt as if the old man knew that Draco wasn't really a student.

"Those of you who have signed the roster in the last month, you will accompany Professor Moody to another room," Remus said quietly and nodded when some of the students started to assemble their things to follow the Auror. Draco, who had not unpacked anything in the first place, stood up and followed the already walking Mad-Eye Moody to a different classroom, hearing some others trail behind them.

He, along with fourteen other pupils, silently trailed behind the Auror with quick steps. Licking his lips and absently touching his wand through his robe, he really hoped that Moody wouldn't give a truth sheet.

----------

Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat on the opposite side of the empty classroom once they realised where Malfoy was sitting. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were scattered around the room, mostly in pairs of two or three, but Draco was the only one to be alone. Harry watched Draco closely, suspiciously, as the blond bit his bottom lip.

Harry now knew that whenever Draco was nervous, or anxious, the blond Slytherin always bit his bottom lip – not that he would admit it, of course. Harry looked around the room; it was a bit unusual to see the room half-empty, but his eyes returned to the Auror in front of them. He barely noticed Ron and Hermione talking beside him. 

Mad-Eye Moody surveyed the whispering students, and when he cleared his throat, the room became silent. He got out a parchment and a quill, and with his magical eye continuing to flicker around the room restlessly, he scowled slightly and spoke.

"This is Auror Training 101 and will help you get selected during the final test. What I will ask you here," he said gruffly, his magical eye fixed on Harry, "is to sign your name on this piece of parchment. This is basically a term and agreement paper for your final year here. Who will be first?"

The class was silent except for the quiet ticking of a clock that could be heard several feet away. Harry surveyed the room silently and watched the downcast eyes of the students, none of them wanting to be the first.

He gazed at the Auror who was continuing to look around the silent room. There was an awkward shift here and there, but nothing else disturbed the peaceful, eerie silence.

"Well?" There was clearly irritation in the gruff voice now, and Harry sighed and was about to stand up to sign the parchment, when his gaze caught hold of Draco Malfoy standing up. Everyone watched, including Professor Moody, as Draco (Harry noticed that his cheeks were a faint pink) made his way to the front with superiority and class. Harry would have rolled his eyes if it were not for the seriousness of the situation. 

Mad-Eye Moody watched as Draco walked towards him, his magical eye boring into the blond's face suspiciously before he held out the piece of parchment and the quill. Everyone watched, totally entranced, as Draco took the parchment and scanned over the paper before he said, "Revelum Parchmentus."

The class stared as Mad-Eye Moody looked taken aback. Draco didn't seem to notice as he continued to mutter revealing charms. Aggravated and impressed at the same time, the Auror scowled and said brusquely, "I assure you, there is no hidden words on this parchment."

Draco didn't seem convinced, but he replied coolly, "I'm just making sure. Years of experience have caused me to be suspicious. Don't we learn that in Auror Training?"

His voice would have sounded sarcastic to Harry if it were not for the seriousness in Draco's face. Everyone held their breath as the Auror and Draco Malfoy held their stare for a moment before Draco dropped his gaze to the parchment and uttered another spell, and Harry noticed with furrowed eyebrows that Draco wasn't holding a wand when he was performing the incantations. 

Hermione must have noticed it as well, for she looked at her friends from the corner of her eye, and a questioning eyebrow shot up when Harry shrugged. They watched, then, as Draco's swift arm caught their attention and held up a quill, and Harry watched, amazed, as Draco wrote his name down on the parchment with Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye watching him suspiciously. 

Harry could feel Ron sneer beside him, but he just continued to watch Draco as he returned the quill and turned around, making his way to his desk. Only when he was halfway there did a voice break through the quiet room.

"You're Lucius Malfoy's son?" The tone was clearly venomous. Not particularly at Draco, but the name that was brought forth from the lips was enough to make Harry sneer as well. 

"Yes," came the curt reply, and Draco walked to his seat before he sat down, a blank _expression on his face. The Auror in the front of the classroom scowled indiscreetly, and his magical eye surveyed the room before he said, "We don't have all day. Who else?"

Harry could feel Draco looking at him without turning his face, but he did eventually, and he was staring in the stormy grey eyes of the blond Slytherin. Feeling a shiver ride up his back, he looked back at Mad-Eye Moody and stood up, sending a challenging look Draco's way. He then, along with his two friends behind him, made their way to the front of the classroom and after that, everyone lined up and signed their name on the parchment. 

Harry made sure to write his name right beside Draco Malfoy's.

----------

// The nineteen-year-old Harry smiled slightly as he dipped the quill in ink, and charily, he wrote his name carefully on the small notebook. He bit his bottom lip, and wrote _Harry Malfoy_ on the paper before he smiled down at it, not noticing the blond make his way over to him.

"What do we have here? Someone not doing his duties?" came a drawl from above him, and Harry felt his heart stop momentarily as he tried to cover up the name he had written down. He was too late, though. He felt the wire of the flimsy notebook scratch his palm when Draco jerked it away with a scowl, and Harry, feeling the heat reach his neck, tried desperately to grab the notebook back.

Draco held Harry at arm's length, smirking at him, and Harry's face was scrounged up in fear as he tried desperately to distract Draco from the words he had written down.

What if it would scare him? What would happen if Draco read it? 

Chuckling, Draco gave the struggling Harry a look before he scowled and tossed the unread notebook back unto the table. Looking away to give Harry some privacy to close his journal, Draco drawled, "I bet it wasn't interesting anyway."

Harry clearly didn't think so, but he closed the notebook and secured it with a spell, stuffing it in his old school bag. Both were staying late to assist some of the other senior Aurors, but since none of the full-fledged Aurors had anything for them to do, they had been told to stay in one room and review some spells.

Harry could still feel his cheeks burning from the chance that Draco might have read his daydream scribble, and he watched as the blond turned around later with a sneer that surprisingly matched his face.

"What was it anyway, Potter?" he drawled out, and Harry looked down. 

Should Harry tell him the truth? 

Swallowing, he muttered quietly, "Just… a daydream fantasy, really."

He could hear the blond laugh to himself a few feet away, and The-Boy-Who-Lived turned his head away sadly. Harry closed his eyes and remembered the good times. The lake, the rain, the smell of the lilies and the water lilies that one spring day… the kissing… the dancing… dancing in the rain… He knew he shouldn't give up hope, and he had promised Draco a long time ago that he never would… 

He looked up, though, when he felt Draco sweep past him and look out the window. Harry looked out of it and blinked when he saw the gentle rain pelt the glass, and he watched, quietly and utterly amazed as Draco turned around and looked at him.

"Have you ever gone dancing in the rain, Potter?" came a random question, and Harry's lip trembled as he smiled... and right then did he remember why he knew he shouldn't give up hope. //

----------

Harry hated insomnia. Glaring at the ceiling above him, even if it was clearly not at fault in any way, he clenched his eyes shut and hoped sleep would overtake him. As far as he knew, tomorrow there was a major Transfiguration test and he needed the rest from the amount of studying he had been forced to do.

He grumbled something to himself as he turned to his side, surveying the moonlight through the thin curtains. He licked his dry lips and pouted, finally admitting to himself that it would be a long night indeed… unless…

_No_, he told himself and shut his eyes again. Almost as if he could hear Hermione's voice in his head, he cringed when he thought of what she would say. '_Harry, you should have been sleeping last night, not roaming around the school with your invisibility cloak!' _and if he tried to retort by saying that he couldn't fall asleep, she would just give him a look and reply, _'Well, it's your own fault for not going to Pomfrey for some sleeping potions'_.

He sighed loudly this time, not caring if anyone could hear him or not, because mostly likely, they were asleep and in wonderland when he wasn't. Maybe if he thought of Ginny…

_No_, he told himself. He rolled his eyes as he remembered what had happened yesterday morning. When he had told Ginny _discreetly_ that he was thinking about her at night, Seamus snorted and muttered, '_Another wet dream, Harry? No wonder the house elves were complaining_.'

But then, his thoughts travelled back to what happened last week with the blond Slytherin and the Quidditch field. He could sense a familiar feeling claim him, making him tense his shoulders and scowl to himself as he thought of Draco Malfoy – his nemesis, someone he had disliked from the moment he saw him—but, incidentally, his shoulders relaxed and a thoughtful _expression came to his face when he remembered the fear that was showing on the blond's face that late October day.

That day, Harry had seen Draco escape from Pansy Parkinson's side with a muttered word in her ear, and before Harry knew it, his curiosity got the better of him and he had followed Draco Malfoy make his way to the Quidditch field. He was going to solve the mystery of Draco Malfoy's behaviour once and for all. 

Harry's brow furrowed as he remembered the past month with the 'new' Malfoy. He was different, Harry admitted, and Harry appreciated Draco's maturity this year. Not once, ever since the arrival back at school, did Draco make a scathing remark to him, and being the famous Harry Potter, the brunette Gryffindor would have thought that everyone was expecting Draco Malfoy to make a big performance since it was their last year… but Draco had done no such thing! Harry was amazed, to say the least. He was amazed, and grateful, and appreciative, and suspicious and bewildered. 

Harry rolled over without sleep on his mind, but rather, Draco Malfoy. And then he started to think about how Draco had acted so grown-up and mature when a Gryffindor first year approached him!

Harry knew these thoughts wouldn't go away that night, and they were swimming in his head rapidly as he stared at the ceiling once again. He licked his lips and frowned. And what was most peculiar about the whole thing… is that whenever Harry looked at him _now_… he was the one that dropped his gaze, not Draco. 

_I'm going mental, thinking about Malfoy_, he said to himself and rolled his eyes. _But it's just… *so* peculiar_.

Pushing off the blankets and ignoring Hermione's frowning face that was imprinted in his mind, he pushed his feet through the curtains where it landed on the floor. He listened intently with closed eyes for any shuffling or movements around the dormitory, and when he heard none, he knew that everyone was asleep. He stood up then, and walked to his trunk, and with a determined look, he fished out his invisibility cloak and his sacred map. 

He knew that he couldn't go to sleep; thinking about his blond counterpart had woken him completely. Frowning while putting on the invisibility cloak, he wondered if maybe he could become sleepy somewhere else. 

He made his way out of the dorm and he exited the portrait with the fat lady mumbling something that sounded like, 'Leave me alone'. Only then did he open the Marauder's map, and his eyes searched the castle for any sign of Mrs. Norris and/or Filch. His lips slowly curved up into a smile when he saw them both outside on the grounds, but his eyes caught hold of a single solitary figure.

_Bizarre_, he thought to himself. _This is so bloody ironic_. He could feel his feet make their way to the kitchens where the figure was, and his eyes stayed attached to the figure's label, almost afraid that it would vanish before his eyes. 

_Hmm, what is Malfoy doing up this time_? _And how does he know where the kitchens are_? Harry asked himself as he turned a corner, then he walked silently and briskly down the stairs to his destination. 

Frowning as he saw the painting of the fruit, he looked back at the Marauder's Map, making sure that Draco's name was still on there, and making sure that Draco was still in the kitchen doing who knows what. Silently, he tickled the pear and leisurely, he entered the kitchen.

----------

// The first time Harry had touched his hand; Draco jerked it away with a very menacing scowl on his face. The second time, Draco rolled his eyes and put his hand on his pocket with a blank face; The third time, Draco snarled and said, 'Leave me alone!'. 

But Harry was used to it. And the one hundredth time that Harry put his hand on top of Draco's, the blond looked up at him and kept his hand there, and there was some foreign look in his eye that Harry couldn't quite decipher. And Harry's heart surged with hope when Draco entwined their fingers, and he _smiled_. //

----------

Draco smiled as a house elf brought him a huge plate of finger sandwiches, and he thanked the small elf (which looked like a girl, he really couldn't tell) with a smile. He was curled on the floor by the fire, staring into it while munching on some chips and trying to study for his transfiguration test tomorrow. Ironically, he woke up extremely early that October morning, but he didn't feel that sleepy now. His brows furrowed and he shrugged to himself as he looked down at his notes, reading up on them. 

He shivered slightly and he looked up quickly and surveyed the deserted kitchen. The house elf that had brought him the food had seemingly gone to bed and left him there. It was strange, he thought, that they didn't mind his presence. 

He continued to survey the room, noticing as the entrance to the kitchen closed, and his brows furrowed. Drawling out, just in case it was one of the ghosts or Peeves, he said quietly, "Whoever it is, I suggest you leave because I have permission to be here."

He didn't hear anything and wondered vaguely if maybe there _was_ nothing there. But no, he sensed that there was someone, or _something_ there. 

Standing up casually and over exaggerating a yawn (he smirked to himself and knew that he would have whoever or whatever was there in a matter of moments), he picked up his notes, and in the other hand, picked up the food. Making sure not to glance around the room, he stared straight ahead and made his way to one of the tables where he put down the food and stuffed his Transfiguration notes in his pockets. 

He could hear a small shuffle behind him and he smirked to himself. _Such fun,_ he told himself and turned around slowly, pretending to look for something he might have forgotten on the floor. His eyes caught hold of a shadow on the floor, which was illuminated by the fire, and he smirked openly when he knew where his prey was. 

Taking a quick step without hesitation, he pounced and tackled the invisible figure to the ground, rolling around with the figure on the floor, sneering angrily when he felt them kick his stomach. 

"Gerroff!" he heard a yell below him, and he straddled the body with a triumphant smirk, but slowly, his smirk disappeared when he started to realise who this was without seeing the face below him.

Feeling his heart drop (he cursed himself instantly when he realised that it could only be one person), he leaned forward, and hoping-no, -wishing it wasn't Harry; he pulled back the cloth that was making the person below him invisible.

Unsurprised, he stared into Harry's eyes, and a rush of emotions ran through him the more he stared into them without a word. Thoughts came running to him, -Harry's eyes, his accident, the incident, the pain, the _pain_, everything- as he looked into Harry's inquiring eyes.

"I-I," he started to say, but the words died on his lips. He could feel Harry breathing below him, and he couldn't bring his eyes away from Harry's – and his past came flooding to him so quickly as he started to remember, and he could feel his bottom lip start to tremble as he remembered their last kiss.

Harry, looking up at him, could only define Draco's face as hurt, and pain, and he blinked up at him silently the longer Draco straddled him.

Draco got off of him quickly before Harry could ask a question, and Harry sat up, watching the figure stumble to the table in the kitchen.

"Oi, Malfoy," he said quietly while getting up. He put his hood back on – the one Draco pulled back – and he walked closer to the blond, feeling better that he was now invisible again, "What's going on?"

Draco's voice was strangled as he replied, "I have to go." Harry watched as Draco quickly cleaned up the remanding food and made his way to the door. Harry frowned and said unkindly in a quiet voice, "What, going to leave, Malfoy?"

That seemed to stop Draco. Harry smugly smiled and crossed his hands in front of his chest. Maybe now he would get some answers. 

"What's happened to you? Got tired of hurting people or something?" Harry knew he was overdoing it, but he didn't care at this point. He knew that whatever he would do, Malfoy wouldn't react in a venomous way, not at least, in the way he used to. 

Harry could see from where he was standing that Draco's shoulders were tensing, and his brows furrowed when Draco turned around to face him. Almost as if he knew where Harry was, he stared directly at him with an emotionless face. 

Draco didn't answer so Harry tried again with a crueller tone, "Cat got your tongue, Malfoy?"

Again, no answer from the blond student. Harry watched as Draco sighed quietly, and before the Slytherin turned away and opened the painting, Harry could hear whispered words coming from the blond's mouth.

_"Sweet dreams, Harry_."

----------

It was at the end of the month of October, and Ron's head was on Hermione's lap, staring at the ceiling. Hermione didn't seem to mind, because she was reading her Defence Against the Dark Arts notes, her brows channelling together when she misunderstood something. They were both in the common room while the rest of the house was somewhere else, and Harry was at Quidditch practice with Ginny.

"You know," Ron said quietly and Hermione looked down at him. Ron noticed that her eyes were a really pretty brown, and he held her gaze as he spoke, "Ginny has been looking really lonely these days. Do you think Harry and her are having problems?"

Hermione smiled down at him and put her notes to the side of her lap. Quietly, leaning back and relaxing, she said, "Is super-brother going to help them out?"

Ron smiled up at her and rolled his eyes. Dangling his feet over the arm of the couch, he replied, "No, I'm just wondering… because… well. Have you noticed that Harry's been a bit out of it?" His confused face looked up at hers, and she shook her head and placed a true smile on her face.

"It's his last year… that with what everyone expects from him… and Quidditch… and him having a girlfriend… I would say that it's okay for him to have a spaced out day, yes." Her tone was what made Ron roll his eyes, and he saw a stray curl brush against her eyelash. Automatically, he reached up, and without removing his gaze; he swept it behind her ear. He was pleased when her mouth opened slightly, and even more pleased when she had nothing to say.

"I just hope they aren't having relationship problems, you know? Mum will be down _my_ back if they ever break up," Ron mumbled and Hermione raised an eyebrow.

Answering her unasked question, he continued with a small smile, "You know. She will be complaining that they are so right for each other, that they deserve each other… that she would love to have Harry as a son—you know, even if he is already part of the family—and she will most likely talk to me about it because she doesn't want to push Harry and she doesn't want to upset Ginny. Well, you know what I mean, yeah?" 

Hermione smiled reassuringly at him and brushed another stray curly hair behind her ear. She said quietly down to him, "Yes, I know. They are perfect for each other, I think anyway. Ginny and him are already friends, they get along great…"

He smiled at that and closed his eyes, not noticing that Hermione was gazing at his face intently. Softly, while biting her bottom lip, and hoping he wouldn't open his eyes, she let her fingers ghost over his cheek, and feeling her face burning up slightly, she licked her lips and pulled her hand back. She hoped he wouldn't ask her why she did that.

"Ron?" she asked gently, and he opened a lazy eye to look at her. She decided to change the subject, because she had wanted to ask this question for a long time.

"What do you think of the new Malfoy?"

The bushy-haired Gryffindor girl tried to keep the smile away from her face, but she failed indiscreetly when Ron grumbled, 'Prat,' under his breath. She could feel the boy tense up below her, and she watched as both of his eyes locked with hers, and there was a small scowl on his face when her eyes drifted to his mouth.

"I think he's a sodding git that is trying to get us to think that he's different, but really, he's just lining up for the strike until he finally embarrasses us once and for all! I know how that git thinks, that's why." Ron said a matter-of-flatly, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Hermione's brow furrows and her lips twitched.

"I still think that he finally knows what maturity is," she smiled slightly and watched Ron roll his eyes below her, "you have to admit that."

When Ron didn't say anything, she said with a smile, "Give him a chance, Ron. I really think he's changed… by some miracle. But, do try to give him a chance? Please? As a favour to me?" At her question and her soft tone, Ron's tenseness evaporated, and his eyes became soft, rather than the hard look it had earlier.

She took it as a yes when he looked at her, and their eyes held for more than five seconds, and she saw some sort of understanding in his eyes that she couldn't quite define. She never quite found out what made herself trail her thumb on his cheekbone a minute later, but she wasn't about to complain when he closed his eyes again, relaxing into her touch.

----------

Draco's eyes furrowed as he added the last drop to the Sleeping Draught; watching the contents in the cauldron bubble yellow until, finally, it subsided and became crystal clear. He gave the cauldron a small smile before he looked over his shoulder at the working Professor Snape. The man was hunched over his work desk with his black curtain of hair covering the pale face, and Draco cleared his throat slightly to call his attention.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape drawled out and didn't look up, but Draco walked over to his side, his robes fluttering behind him, and the blond coughed slightly.

"May I have get some test tubes for the draught I made?" He already knew the answer, but he felt the need to ask out of politeness and respect. Snape gave him a brief nod, and Draco went to the Potions Storeroom to fetch several empty test tubes. 

// "Hey Draco?" came a soft voice behind him, and Draco looked over his shoulder to see Harry gazing at the millions of vials and potions on the shelves. He gave his husband a small smile before looking back at the pain-relieving potions on the shelves, trying to find a suitable potion for the small throbbing pain in his head.

"Hmm?" came the blond's answer, and his eyes caught hold of the potion he was looking for. Carefully, he reached out and pulled it out of the shelf, gazing into the green liquid. 

Harry Malfoy and Draco Malfoy were both in Diagon Alley's potion shop; two twenty-five-year-old men both taking a day off from work to do something together. They had decided to spend the day walking around Diagon Alley jointly. 

"Why did Snape always like you during school?" came the inquisitive, soft tone, and Draco turned to Harry, watching the brunette inspect some other kind of potion. Draco could feel himself smirk, and he came up behind the-boy-who-was-now-his and hugged Harry around the waist, breathing into his ear.

"Because I always did special favours for him," Draco smirked and blew some air into the shell of his husband's ear, and he smiled and Harry's own hands placed themselves on top of his own. He tried to make his voice seductive, but even then, he knew Harry wouldn't believe his words. 

Chuckling slightly, Harry leaned back and turned his face to kiss Draco lightly on the lips. He was rewarded with Draco squeezing his stomach, and he turned around, not noticing anyone who would look at them.

"You know what I mean…" came Harry's voice, low and gentle, and Draco stared into the green eyes that made his knees go weak, that made his heart pound quickly, that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"I was good in potions, it was a talent," came the reply, and they both smiled at each other before the blond leaned forward and kissed his husband on the nose before letting go of his waist. Harry beamed and Draco smirked as they both made their way to the cashier, and Harry told him another thing.

"You were great in potions during seventh year, you know… Snape always gave you different potions to work on, harder ones, while letting us work on the required ones to pass that year." Harry said quietly, and continued, "Do you remember that, maybe?"

Draco sighed and paid the witch on the other side of the counter five galleons before turning to his lover. Tenderly, he replied, "Harry… you know that I don't remember anything from my seventh year…"

There was a short nod from the brunette, and Draco could see the familiar sadness build up in Harry's eyes. He reached out and took Harry's hand, tugging them slightly until Harry looked up at him, and he spoke kindly – his voice only reserved for his husband and his husband alone – "But you could tell me about it. It's our day, remember?"

As they walked out the shop, hand in hand, Harry started telling him of their classes, lilies, and Draco's favourite part: dancing in the rain. //

Draco snapped out of his thoughts quickly and blinked several times. The test tubes were still on the shelf, and his hand was resting lightly before him. Feeling the dryness in his throat, he swallowed mightily and exhaled a deep breath. _Stop it, stop thinking of the past_. 

He gathered up a dozen test tubes and turned off the light, and closed the door behind him as he made his way to the worktable he was working on earlier. He was unaware of the concerned gaze of the older man, and Draco swallowed again, when he performed a small, wandless spell that could make the clear liquid separate equally into the twelve test tubes.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Malfoy?" came a low drawl, and Draco looked up quickly, a bit surprised that Snape had addressed him. He feigned a smile and shook his head, and cursed himself when Snape stood up, walking over to him, hoping he wouldn't ask Draco to explain any of his pasts to him. 

"There is a tutoring program beginning here next month. One of Albus's insufferable ideas to give me a large, _large_ headache."

Draco looked up at that and watched the still face of the Potion's Master. Smiling slightly, he raised an eyebrow at Snape's unasked question and replied in a drawl of his own, "I wouldn't mind tutoring some younger ones, Severus."

They shared a small smile, Snape's a bit tighter than Draco's, and the black-haired man swivelled on his heel and made his way back to his desk to retrieve a piece of parchment. Draco looked from the corner of his eye at the cauldron that was halfway up in the air, still continuing to distribute the liquid equally to the one dozen of test tubes. He turned his attention completely to the black-haired man when Severus stood beside him.

"It seems as if several of the first and second years have made the list." There was a smug tone in the Professor's voice, and Draco peeked over Snape's arm to see the record. His eyes scanned the list quickly before his eyes caught a name, but before he could speak, Snape continued in a low enunciation, "Of course, Slytherins are intelligent enough and no one in my house has made the list."

Draco smirked slightly when the Professor said 'my', but he pointed to a student on the list. Quietly, looking Snape in the face, he said, "I would like to tutor this pupil, if you don't mind."

Snape's eyes scanned the name that Draco's finger was pointed at before looking at the house on the opposite side of the paper. He stayed quiet for a moment before his eyes met Draco's, and Draco could see a slight disagreement in the Professors face.

"Melinda Bogtrottle?" Snape scowled slightly, but Draco kept his gaze with his mentor's. He nodded briefly before raising an eyebrow, and drawled, "Is that a problem, Severus?"

They stared at each other, each holding a disagreement of their own before the Potion Master snapped, "Of course not. Interesting, though, how you seem so comfortable with Gryffindors."

Draco could feel a slight heat rise up in his neck, but he kept his gaze steady, knowing he was taking a small risk to stare at the older man like what he was doing, but he replied in a controlled tone, "I did marry one after all, Severus."

That comment made the older man look down, and Draco turned his head to watch the last few drops of clear liquid make it's way home to the test tube containers. Feeling the heat evaporate from his neck slightly, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at his Professor and quietly, he said, "Harry told me of what happened with you and James Potter… when… we started dating… He told me about Black as well, and Lupin…" he paused and waved his hand, unaware that the cauldron landed soundly on the table as he continued to watch a brief flicker of dispassion run through the Potion Master's eyes when he mentioned the three names, "Not all Gryffindors are like them, Professor. Rivalry is natural, really…"

He stopped there though, and sighed, turning to the completed sleeping draughts. He put a cork in each and every one, consciously aware of the thoughtful look on the Professor's face. Draco stole a glance at him midway through his duties, and Snape smiled at him slightly; a thin smile, but a smile nonetheless. 

"A Slytherin and Gryffindor make a pact… how ironic…" Snape drawled slightly, and Draco's eyes widened slightly.

// "Hey, Draco?" Harry asked quietly, and Draco shot him an agitated look. Harry and him were both newly approved Aurors, both still youthful and barely twenty. Draco sneered and didn't bother to answer him.

Harry placed a hand on his shoulder and Draco jerked away, scowling at him now. When Draco met his eyes, he could see hurt and pain in Harry's face, but he just rolled his eyes and scooted down the carriage seat, to the opposite side. 

They stayed silent for the whole ride, and Draco glanced continuously from the corner of his eye as Harry tried to keep his hands from shaking, but the brunette was doing such a horrible job that he had to hide his fingers in his pockets.

When they finally arrived at Hogwarts, Draco sneered as the driver opened the carriage for them, and he didn't even bother to wait for his partner as he made his way to the castle, consciously hearing Harry run after him. They both had a day off; their first day off from the job, and what had gotten Draco in such a bad mood was the fact that Harry had asked to accompany him to Hogwarts. 

The blond slowed down when they reached the Great Hall doors, and he looked over his shoulder at the red-faced Harry Potter. Smirking slightly, he opened the Great Hall doors in a way which he hoped was discreetly, and the first thing he saw made him narrow his eyes and stare incredulously.

_What the bloody hell?!_ he asked himself, and glancing at Harry, he felt even more confused as Harry just looked plainly at him. The mummer of the hall rose slightly as the two young walked in slowly, heading towards the Great Table.

"Oi, Potter, what the bloody hell is happening?" he whispered feverishly, and Harry raised an eyebrow at his question. Harry looked to the people that Draco was pointing too, and Draco gave an irritated sigh as the boy-who-lived gave him an even _more_ confused look.

"What I'm asking, Potter, is why is a Slytherin sitting at the Gryffindor table?" he hissed quietly as they continued to walk, both watching several Slytherins – as well as some Hufflepuffs and noticeable Ravenclaws – interact with the Gryffindors at the Gryffindor table. 

Both had stopped in front of the High Table, and Draco could feel a million eyes on him. He glared around the inquisitive room with a small scowl, and several looked down at their plates. He felt a hand on his shoulder a minute later.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy… and Mr. Potter," Draco's brows furrowed as he heard the voice behind him, but the thing that made his brows channel was the absence of distaste in the second name. He turned around and faced a surly looking Potions master. Harry made a small noise beside him.

"Professor Snape, how… charming to see you," Draco sneered slightly, and looked over his shoulder at the interacting houses. He strongly disliked the communication between his house and others, _especially_ Gryffindors. Harry made another small noise beside him.

"How have you been? I do hope you have… stayed out of trouble," Draco raised an eyebrow at the tone, but discarded the thought from his mind, as his gaze was intent on the Gryffindor table. 

Scowling, he replied, "Why is our house sitting with those… _people_?"

Snape followed his gaze, and Draco turned around just in time for the Potion Master and his partner, Harry, to exchange a glance. He furrowed his eyebrows even more and scowled when none of them noticed.

"Well? When did _this_ start happening? I don't remember our house ever interacting with those idiots, Professor. Slytherins clearly wouldn't be that stupid to interact with Gryffindors by choice. Please do not tell me you are getting soft in your old age." Draco drawled, and the hand on his shoulder dropped. He could feel Harry shift uncomfortably beside him, and he just about had it.

"Is this one of the things I don't remember when I had the bloody accident? If so, please fill me in." Draco said angrily, and Harry and the Potion's Master looked at him. He could see them both exchange another glance, a knowing glance, and he sighed, irritated, as none of them answered him. He surveyed the room before looking at the Slytherin table.

His jaw dropped.

At the Slytherin table, there were two Gryffindor girls giggling loudly at a Hufflepuff's animations – it was evident that they were in different house, their badges were not blocked by anything, and the yellow and black Badger stood out proudly on the Hufflepuff's chest, as well as the red and gold Lion crest stood out brilliantly on the two Gryffindor girls' chests, and Draco stared as one of them looked at him.

And she smiled widely, and waved, but just as quickly, she stopped and gave him a searching look. 

"A Gryffindor and Slytherin made a pact… how ironic…" came a drawled out voice beside him, and Draco never forgot that phrase. //

"Merlin," Draco whispered, and he looked quickly with wide eyes as the Professor. Snape raised an eyebrow at him and Draco shook his head quickly, telling himself over and over again that it was all so real, all so clear -- the building emotion running through his body so quickly he was sure to fall at any moment, but he didn't, and he shook his head again – and told himself, _Amazing!_

"What is it, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked, trying not to seem interested, but the black haired man's concern for his student's sudden un-focusing made him worried. 

"… I've… what you've just said…" Draco started out, and licked his dry lips. He smiled despite of himself and shook his head slowly again, disbelieving how everything was slowly coming together.

"That a Gryffindor and Slytherin have made a pact… I just meant that you and Ms. Bogtrottle must have some hidden friendship; I'm sure I'm not the only one who had witnessed her eating dinner at the Slytherin table with you and Ms. Parkinson the other night, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco continued to stare at the worktable before him, still amazed at what was happening, and he finally looked up to Snape's raised eyebrow. Then, another thought came to his mind as he remembered that girl –who had smiled and waved to him- in his sudden flashback.

"Bogtrottle," he whispered to himself, and bewilderedly, he now realised what made him recognise Melinda right away the first time he saw her. Part of it was because of Melinda was Melissa's sister, but now, as he pondered thoughtfully in the potion's classroom, it was because he had seen her before. 

"What about Bogtrottle?" was what interrupted his deep thinking, and he blinked at being addressed. He started at Snape for a moment, before finally realizing that the Potion's professor was speaking to him.

With a raspy voice, only because his throat was dry, he replied, "The first time… or the second time…" he thought back and shook his head before correcting himself, "Well, the first time I've seen her _here_, in _this_ time, was amazing. I knew I've seen her before – and I had – but I thought it was because I've taught her sister. But, then… what you just said made me realise that I've seen her before… when I was first came back to Hogwarts after graduation… She was the girl that waved to me. … She was the one that was looking at me…"

Draco paused, and automatically, without thinking, he turned to Snape and asked, "Do you remember?"

Snape gave him a look and Draco mentally slapped himself. _Of course he doesn't remember. It didn't even happen yet. This time travelling thing is messing you up._

Draco sighed irritably and shook his head. He started gathering up the filled test tubes and looked at his watch, which read eleven fifteen. He shot Snape an apologetic glance, and was relieved to see a small smile on the brunette's face. His heart lifted slightly.

"I shall put you down for tutoring Ms. Bogtrottle next month, Mr. Malfoy. Ms. Granger and several other seventh years shall have to help as well." Draco nodded at what Snape said, and put the liquids in his school bag carefully. He cleaned up his mess as Snape made his way back to his desk to, presumably, grade more papers, and Draco looked at his watch again. He felt tired, and stifled a small yawn. He heard his stomach grumble a minute later.

Cursing himself, he wished he had enough time to go to the kitchen and eat, but he had to go to sleep as soon as possible because he knew that there was a test tomorrow. Sighing, he waved goodbye and goodnight to the Professor, and left the potions classroom, and his mind started to drift one last time.

// That night, when they finally were on the carriage home from Hogwarts, Draco could feel tension in the ex-Gryffindor student. Draco sneered as Harry didn't even look at him, and drawled, "Mad, are you Potter?"

A small sigh came from Harry's mouth, and his scowl disappeared as Harry turned his face to look at him. Instead, Draco tilted his head at Harry's stressed face, and there was some deep emotion in Harry's eyes – and Draco could only define it as hurt and pain. 

"No, just… have you ever … well… I…" Harry started, and looked at his hands. Draco raised an eyebrow, but other than that, he didn't do anything else and waited for Harry to continue, "… Is… Draco... is..."

Harry paused longer this time, and Draco held his sigh. Harry finished in a whisper, "Is there any hope? Any… at all?"

Draco looked at him and wondered what the hell he was talking about. Never one to be cautious, he drawled, "What the hell are you talking about Potter? Honestly, these days, it's like you're talking in bloody riddles. Do talk some sense, will you?"

He tried not to look away when Harry's hand squeezed the cushion, but his partner always seemed so tense all the time…

"… I mean, Draco… is there any hope… for _us_?"

That question made Draco blink. _Us? Us, meaning… together? … What is Potter thinking?_

"Us… meaning…" the blond started out, and the brunette sighed beside him. Draco watched him impatiently, and waited for Harry's answer. The carriage shook a bit, but other than that, everything was focused on Harry.

"Us… meaning…" there was a bit of frustration in Harry's voice, Draco could tell, and finally, it dawned on the blond boy. _Us meaning 'lovers', hm, Potter?_

Sneering menacingly, he spoke, "Potter. When will you realise that I don't like you like _that_? So, you took care of me and assisted me after my accident, but it doesn't mean I owe you my time or… or part of me _that_ way."

Harry's eyes flashed, and Draco's heart froze in sudden fear as Harry's head snapped and looked at him. They stared at each other for a minute, neither one to break the gaze, and Draco watched thousands of emotions twinkle in Harry's eyes, the longer they stared at each other. Finally, Draco dropped his gaze, and Harry did the same a second later. 

They were both silent. 

After several heated minutes, Draco could hear Harry's whisper, and he leaned forward mechanically when Harry started to speak.

"… I know you don't remember your seventh year, Draco. I know you don't remember it… you already know – even if you deny it – that we were lovers then… but… I've stared into your eyes and have _seen_ something. I had seen a future. You told me… once… that you loved me…" Draco listened intently, never hearing this before, "No… you told me several times… and… once…" Harry's voice choked slightly, "you told me… 'Harry, promise me. Promise me that you will never give up on me… please…'"

Draco watched Harry's face as the brunette shook his head, and Harry's glasses slid off his nose to land on the carriage floor. Automatically, Draco leaned forward, brushing his partner's knee, and picked it up for him. Only when he held it up to Harry did he realise that the brunette's eyes were glassy with moisture.

Draco felt a sudden weight; he wasn't sure what caused it, as he stared in Harry's eyes. And Harry whispered decidedly, "And I don't plan to. I don't plan to give up." // 

As Draco fell asleep that night, there was one thought on his mind. _Never, Harry, never. I will never give up._

-----**TBC**-----

* * *

_I cried a tear   
You wiped it dry   
I was confused   
You cleared my mind   
I sold my soul   
You bought it back for me   
And held the earth   
You gave me dignity   
Somehow you needed me   
You gave me strength   
To stand alone again   
To face the world   
Out on my own again   
You put me high   
Upon a pedestal   
So high that I could almost see eternity   
You needed me   
You needed me_

* * *

**Notes**: Songs come from, Boyzone (You needed me), and Celine Dion, (Have you ever been in love?). Reviews appreciated; Constructive criticism welcome. Oh, and thank you to Elisha for correcting my canon mistake. In the previous chapter, I had written that Crouch had said, 'Constant Vigilance' when it was really Moody. Sorry about that, my mistake! Thanks for reading. 


End file.
